Just a look
by Lysa
Summary: Unfortunately for her, defeat was not something he was used to. If she wanted to play that game, then he would play with her and only God knew who had the most experience in this area.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone ! This was originally a story of mine written in French but I've been trying to translate it as best as possible. I'll be eternally grateful to Min or aconstellationofmemories (Tumblr account) who took the time to proof-read it.**

**Basic Miraxus fanfiction with adult scenes in the last chapters. Hope you enjoy it !**

* * *

The mage turned the page wearily. It had been several hours since her magazine stopped provoking the slightest interest in her without her knowing what else to do. She was sprawled on her couch with a warm blanket, a mug of steaming hot tea in hand and the unappealing magazine on her lap. It was one of the few days when she was released from her role as a barmaid, cook, waitress and manager of the guild so that she could take a break and get some rest.

Only this rest was unnecessary for her. She had never had any trouble fulfilling her duty because of fatigue since a good night's sleep was enough to her to be able to do the same the next day. But when prompted by all the members to have a few days off each month, she could not refuse. Despite everything, she appreciated these moments disconnected from the rest of the world taking care of herself or hanging out in her shared apartment with her brothers and sisters. At least, it was enjoyable in the beginning.

It had been a long time since the article in women's magazines had stopped entertaining her. Her eyes glided over the pages of glossy colored paper without finding a single catch. The printed words had lost the appeal that once captured her interest. Sometimes her name appeared, sometimes along with one or two photos of her posing. She admired the beautiful stranger who smiled magnificently at her with all her white teeth.

She had stopped modelling months ago out of a need to distance herself from that life. The editors of the magazine had recycled her old photos. They turned up everywhere, in magazines, fashion catalogs… It was not disturbing for her, for she was neither complexed nor followed by a horde of paparazzi ready to damn their souls to know her favorite tea brand. But this majestic smile that lit up the population like a sun was seeming more and more terribly artificial to her.

She had stopped modelling suddenly to avoid becoming superficial. So that this row of carefully brushed and aligned teeth always and forever remains sincere. She had offered it to the whole world and to strangers whose silhouette she didn't even know just as much as she did to her guild, her friends, and her family. She had given it so often that no one saw her without it. This comforting row of immaculate soldiers which she ended up freezing on her angelic face.

Now all her time was entirely dedicated to the guild. Her adorable younger sister wanted to offer her the freedom of any source of stress imaginable during the holidays, thus Lisanna had taken over her barmaid duties. She was so successful that the eldest Strauss had to crack her head in order to invent new occupations to kill the boredom. She had read, hummed the tunes she knew by heart, strummed the strings of guitar to accompany them, took extra care of her skin that didn't really need it, and stared at the ceiling to witness the agony dreaming of tomorrow. Of her comforting routine that would resume.

Suddenly, she heard the doorknob turn and a cold breeze drifted in from the entrance, making her shiver. A white head quickly slipped through the opening and closed the door behind her. The young Strauss took off her surprisingly thick coat for this mid-autumn season and headed to the living room where her eldest sister was waiting for her.

"Hey Mira-nee," she called out, taking off her boots. "How was your day ?"

"Restful." She replied with a peaceful smile fixed on the lips.

"I'm exhausted." The youngest sighed. "The boys were very excited today. I thought they were going to start the third great war."

Her sister chuckled.

"Were they so terrible?" She asked tenderly.

"You can't even imagine! Natsu and Gray were so unbearable that they didn't even wait until Erza's back was turned to start insulting each other again, and I'm not even talking about Gajeel…" the youngest said, sprawled in the armchair in front of the sofa.

"Poor Erza, she must be tired of always doing the police." Mirajane's breath puffed out.

"Not so much, if you ask me. She does it so well that I sometimes believe she trains at night."

The two young women were taken by a laugh at the idea of Erza in pajamas, standing on her bed, studiously repeating with her most theatrical air the lines intended to calm her friends.

"She really doesn't need it.", replied the eldest between two hiccups of laughter.

Lisanna straightened up and took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat. She looked at her elder sister with a smile as she tried to calm down from her laughter. Her gaze was attracted by the mass of colors that she held in her left hand. A Sorcerer's magazine that must have dated from last week. And she thought her sister now found these readings boring and terribly superficial. Perhaps she was bored enough to find them amusing.

"What did you do today ?" She asked, not looking away from the magazine.

"Oh, three times nothing," the other replied. Then she noticed her sister's gaze and abruptly closed it before placing the magazine on the coffee table. "I didn't want to go out so I just stayed home."

"I see…" The youngest Take Over mage exhaled, looking down. "you never want to go out ?"

The woman was surprised at this question and turned her head thoughtfully.

"Sometimes. I like going to the park and well someone has to do the shopping." She said, laughing.

The youngest smiled and tried again to express her thoughts.

"I mean… you don't want to go out ?" To meet people other than the guild members or even just go out with Cana or Kinana to do something else ?" Lisanna questioned.

The demon mage opened her mouth to answer but no answer crossed her mind. She looked at her younger sister without knowing how to answer her. However, her ideas did not mix or contradict each other. The only answer that came to her mind was so obvious and simple that she never bothered to even think about it. _No_. She had no desire to go to a bar for a drink and to meet new people – not in the slightest. She was already contented with her calm life and her comforting routine.

"No," she finally replied. "Not really." She paused, then stammered out her explanation, which was so obvious to her. "I don't really see the point."

Her younger sister smiled gently at this answer. She was sort of expecting it. Her elder sister was not one to consciously deny herself pleasures for others, even after her personnality change. When you paid attention to her behavior, you could see that her main character traits had remained intact. Her desire to protect others, her energy, which she now spent behind the bar and in the service to the guild, her pride that was well recognized during her fight against Jenny at the Great Magic Games – they were all unchanged from the old Mirajane. The only thing that had changed was the way she expressed them.

You couldn't really say the same about her tastes.

"You used to like this before. Going out, going to concerts… "

The young woman sighed at the insistence of her sister.

"You don't go out any more than I do even if you're quite old enough now, you know," she replied with a slight smile.

The woman blushed at this remark, clasping in her hands the tea she had poured from the teapot her sister prepared earlier. Another trait that had persisted in her. Her ability to divert the conversation when it bothered her.

"It was never my thing," she thought it good to attest.

"It is no longer mine," her elder sister gently and firmly closed the conversation.

Lisanna glanced at her – she was enjoying her tea quietly, closing her eyes. There hadn't been an ounce of wickedness in her response. Just a deep desire to close the subject. Nor had she seemed to be lying to avoid it. She was even deeply sincere and honest with her younger sister.

Lisanna took a sip of her tea. The silence that had taken hold disturbed her a little. Usually, she enjoyed these peaceful moments with her eldest, welcome after spending the day in the midst of the guild's incessant hubbub. But at this time, she felt uncomfortable. As if this silence had settled at the wrong time.

"Elf-nii-chan is coming back from his job tomorrow, right ?" She ended up asking.

She obviously knew the answer. She just wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible and break that awkward silence. The eldest Strauss nodded as her smile widened. She was grateful to her younger sister for not insisting ; she didn't want to create any friction between them. She couldn't stand the idea of disappointing her or having to impose silence on her.

"and it's only eight o'clock, so we still have time to watch a movie without being too tired for work tomorrow !" She said cheerfully, winking at her younger sister.

* * *

The sun struggled to rise on this autumn day filled with fresh air. Shivering from the cold, the demon mage wrapped her coat around herself. She enjoyed the mornings when the city woke up little by little, starting with the bakers whose smell of hot bread and pastries already perfumed the shops. The young woman always ordered an astronomical quantity to feed the mad rabbits of the guild.

The inn provided the restaurant function for the mages but also for the non-mages who wished to benefit from the warm environment. It was one of the main sources of income for the guild and the barmaid. Like a true cook, she filled the stocks, cooked, ran the bar and served customers, accompanied by her younger sister, Kinana and a few extra wandering hands.

The master had entrusted her with the entire management of the restaurant except for the accounting part which he kept. So she got into the habit of doing some shopping in the morning to get fresh produces and ordered the most from a supplier she was used to now.

With her shopping bags in hand, she went to the second large building that overlooked the city after Kardia Cathedral, turned her old key in the lock and pushed open the huge wooden door. The atmosphere was so different at this hour. The shutters were closed and the vastness of the empty room gave it a somewhat disturbing and religious aspect, like a church waiting for its faithful ones. She put her purchases in the kitchen then went to the windows to let the soft light of day invade this much too quiet space for her taste.

She settled behind her counter and began to prepare the first drinks which would soon be ordered. In just an hour, excitement and provocation would reign supreme.

She remembered the evening before. After a meal closer to a picnic, she and her younger sister had watched a cheesy romantic comedy. Two hours during which a handsome young man, rich, charming and slightly macho, finally discovered the meaning and love of his life after meeting a beautiful young woman, vainly presented as banal, who opened his eyes to the world thanks to her kindness, her gentleness and her determination to make the world a better place.

The young woman gave a small laugh at the memory of the final act when the hero finally declared his love in a quavering voice but just as inflamed while his future fiancée – because he was proposing to her – listened with teary eyes before accepting – not without a terribly fake sob – the fabulous ring – surely plastic – that he was offering to her.

Admittedly Mirajane was a big romantic. She dreamed of a happy ending with a loving man who would kiss her like it was the last time throughout her life. She liked to look at the couples in the guild – already decided in her mind – and imagine the life they would surely have in a few years, without however clearly imagining her own possible future.

She did not see herself with anyone and did not feel the need to live a passionate love with any lover. She dreamed of course, but these dreams had never taken on concrete dimensions. They remained as a fantasy out of reach, while all tried without success to make her understand that it would only take a few efforts to make them real. She knew that life was not a romantic comedy that two sisters watched in the evening to relax between two giggles.

Never had she really hoped for passionate declarations of love. If given the choice, she would choose a love as simple and pure as a snowball, although part of herself would yell at her that it would be far too boring for her to thrive there. Perhaps it was a sign that she hadn't changed so much from the adventurous teenager as she had been in the end.

In any event, she had no serious candidates for the position of great love and was not really looking for one. Perhaps it was the parade of heavier contenders who tirelessly presented themselves to her every day pretending to buy a drink. This day would be no exception.

It did not miss. When the frenzy had followed the disturbing calm that reigned a few hours earlier, the barmaid - constantly on the move - slid from one table to another with her high heels and relentlessly distributing orders. She offered her biggest smile to each face she crossed and gently rejected the many advances that many made to her.

Advances, she had heard it was normal for a young barmaid or waitress to be hit on and stopped by consumers. It was commonly accepted by all. Of course, it always bothered her when a man whose face she saw for the first time came to offer her a drink after closing, or when Macau and Wacaba kept reminding her that she just had to blink to have a date.

Although the latter stituation had become more of a recurring joke than a real invitation. It was, but without the hope of a positive response.

The door opened slowly as four mages appeared on the doorstep. A brunette with wavy hair and rectangular glasses, a man wearing a large knight's helmet, another smaller with long and green hair and the last, a tall, muscular man with blond hair. The latter went upstairs and collapsed on one of the sofas.

The barmaid brought the blond-hair man his usual beer and went downstairs to resume her activities. He followed her with his golden eyes and detailed her as usual. His bangs took in her bangs restrained on her head, her warm blue eyes, curly lengths at the end of her white tresses. They continued to roam over her fluttering black dress which hid her generous chest, her slim waist, her hips, her long tapered legs.

She was beautiful, maybe even more than beautiful. She served her customers while singing in the middle of the guild. The noise did not bother her – on the contrary, the noisier it got the louder she sang. Surely convinced that no one could hear her behind the yells of her friends. It was wrong – he heard her very well.

Her black dress twirled around her fair legs as they danced between the tables. Her arms, constantly in action, kept moving from the two trays to the top of the tables. One would have thought it was a dance from India, one of those where the entities were provided with a multitude of arms.

Her snow-white hair waved around her angelic face. She put each foot in front of the other, swaying slightly subtly so that only people looking at her for a long time could see it. He noticed it. Even though she knew he stubbornly stared at her to decipher her gestures, she didn't throw him a glance.

It had become a game between them, to communicate without words, without ulterior motives. He watched her from his pedestal without anyone paying attention to him. Several pairs of eyes were focused on her as she moved in the center of the huge scene that was the guild. She responded with her brightest smile but did not hesitate to discreetly caricature her gestures in order to make fun of the attention that was offered to her.

No one paid attention to him. He was sitting on one of the few sofas on the first floor where no one ever went. He liked to retire there to take a break, find some relaxing solitude and be able to watch the other mages as he pleased from a higher level. Especially the demon mage. He didn't have the same hopes as her suitors, but to see her making fun of their behavior was somewhat distracting.

We also had to admit that she was far from being unpleasant to look at.

She had turned her eyes to him only once today. she had served him his drink and he had glanced at her with a suggestive look. Nothing serious, just to annoy her. Because seeing her cheeks flush under his gaze was just as much fun as enjoying a little of her false prudishness that she tried to pretend was real.

But her reaction was different from what he expected. Instead of being embarrassed that he stared at her like that, she had stared back at him and smiled. Not a fake smile, but a playful and amused grin. She straightened casually and turned slowly to continue her activities.

She knew he was trying to play with her. After all, he had been doing this for a few weeks, and it had to be said that being able to have fun with his own behavior and that of others was refreshing. She also knew that none of these so-called silent advances were serious. He just wanted to push her to the edge as he always had.

She has reached her limits – she was finally tired of seeing him play with her daily. The young woman didn't like allowing people to laugh at her embarrassment. After some time looking for the solution to tell him about it, she concluded that he wouldn't stop, especially if he realized that it was actually working.

So the mage decided to act the opposite of what he expected while knowing that he would not stop his actions immediately. She had to get into his game if she wanted to get him out, but the consequences of such an act were still unknown. Was he going to be surprised ? Amused ? Satisfied ? How could she even have a clue ?

From that moment, she began to move differently, softer and more fluid. She took her time and danced between the tables. She looked and offered her brightest smile to everyone except him. She was completely ignoring him.

A strange ballet that intrigued him a lot, as if her angelic side had escaped her and her demonic side suddenly revealed to him. He was never going to see her again, this sweet Mirajane who smiled benevolently at him. Instead he would see something else that only he could see, a more evil and seductive side of her. He could say that the old Mira had returned but that was not entirely true. The old Mira would never seduce him like that.

But it didn't bother him – on the contrary, it greatly amused him. A new challenge that she launched to him, a secret game, beyond the eyes of others. How to win ? He had absolutely no idea and he knew she didn't either. He just didn't know something : just exactly how far she was ready to let this thing go and what she wanted out of it. Until then they had only jokingly played with each other, but this game was much more complex.

He went downstairs sighing. He wanted to think about it in a more private place. He headed for the door but something warm touched him in the opposite direction. He turned and his gaze fell on her cyan eyes, her irises shining with mischief and amusement. Her demon smile was teasing him on her angelic face. He raised his eyebrows and continued his way out.

The young man understood she just wanted to take him by surprise and make him fall into his own trap. Unfortunately for her, defeat was not something he was used to. If she wanted to play that game, then he would play with her and only God knew who had the most experience in this area.


	2. Chapter 2

The brunette stumbled before the white-haired woman, her shoulders shaking in long sobs and her cheeks soaked with tears between which she barely managed to articulate the word "sake" to the barmaid. The barmaid leaned toward her friend and gasped in surprise at the empty usually purple pupils of the card mage. Gently, she tried to lift her body, now unconscious and devastated by alcohol.

In a quick gesture, she managed to free one heavy arm and began to take the second out of the curly brown curtain. Unfortunately for her, it carried the full weight of the brunette because she barely managed to move it slightly.

"Need a hand?"

His deep voice startled her as the lightning dragon slayer's piercing gaze met hers, appearing behind her as a gift from heaven to take over her impossible task, namely: moving her friend to the infirmary. The blond man grabbed the drunk woman by the nape of the neck and the hollow of her knees before lifting her up in one go and following the path indicated by the white-haired woman.

He put his drunk burden on one of the white beds and watched the barmaid cover her with white sheets and place a cloth soaked in clear water on her forehead. The barmaid looked up at him and stammered a brief _thanks_ to which he replied with a simple nod.

"She's in a bad state," he said, disturbing the silence.

She nodded sadly. "She must have gotten drunk in a bar nearby and winded up here when she saw the light on."

"Shouldn't you have left already?" he asked her.

"I could ask you the same question." She smiled amusedly at him.

The thunder Dragon Slayer mage had fallen silent. For a few minutes only, the brunette's long groans disturbed the heavy silence. Not liking this dismal atmosphere he reengaged:

"Does that happen frequently to her?"

"Sometimes, but it's becoming more and more common these days."

The white-haired woman also fell silent. After all these evenings she had spent at the guild with Cana while she was empting up her drinks, she felt responsible for the brunette who, until recently, confided in her. But despite that, she was unable to know the reason for her friend's too frequent drunken episodes.

A tear escaped from the barmaid and crashed onto her black dress. She wiped it furtively and looked up at the blonde who was staring at her insistently. In a dash, he got up and walked slowly towards the door.

"You coming?" he asked her. "We're not going to stay here all night... or at least what's left of it," he said, glancing at the clock whose pointers were uniformly approaching the number twelve.

"I can't leave..." she mumbled.

"I really doubt she needs you to sleep." His sarcastic tone suddenly irritated her. Annoyed, she passed the door before him with a determined step and met his amused gaze.

He watched her striding away with a confident gait. She returned behind her bar and began to prepare some order. Her white hands fluttered among glasses and drinks with incredible speed. She washed, wiped and tidied up with natural ease while the young man sat at one of the stools and watched her.

There was no longer any trace of the sly smile she had managed to put on her angelic face earlier. Instead, she looked worried and uncomfortable.

"Can you get me something?" he asked.

"So now you're planning to stay all night?" she questioned, cynical.

He looked at her and wore that smirk which he had thought was gone for far too long. "Am I bothering?" he replied with the same smile.

The white-haired woman smiled even more and put the ordered drink in front of him as an answer, then straightened up and cast an amused look in her eyes. "Not if you can make conversation," she finally said.

The blond man sneered and glanced back towards the woman who was looking at him with eyes so transparent and opaque at the same time. Seeing that she was waiting for a reply, he sighed. "I wouldn't count on it if I were you. Talking is not my best feature."

"–oh yeah, I forgot you only knew how to communicate with fists."

The lightning mage widened his eyes and inspected the white-haired woman whose eyes were staring at him with an insolent and playful attitude. Did she just openly call him a bully? She may not have been entirely wrong, but not to the point of completely denying his ability to exchange a few words with her. It was a pure, simple and far too direct provocation.

"Well, my hands surely help me communicate with women, but I really doubt this is the kind of conversation you're expecting." He said each word by slowly detailing the body of the young woman who immediately blushed. She tried to answer but her words tangled in her mouth. She remained helplessly silent, standing still in front of one visibly very happy Laxus on his reply and the embarrassment he had still managed to bring about in her.

Suddenly, the little clock, whose ringing remained discreet during the day, rang twelve times, breaking the laden silence that had settled down. In the distance, they heard the repetitive coughing of the brunette who seemed to have a mad cough. The blond man turned his head towards the white-haired woman who made him understand the pointlessness of any action. After a minute that seemed like forever, the hiccups faded and the heavier silence re-established itself.

"She seems okay..." the demonic mage whispered, before launching towards her handbag to grab a small communication lacrima. "I'm going to call a taxi, take her to Fairy Hills before getting home quickly," she said in an unusually rushed voice.

The young man frowned. "I don't know if it's very safe for a girl to take a cab alone at this hour, you don't want me to come with you?" he suggested with an anxious half-smile.

And he was honest. He had heard horrific stories about rapes of young women who had taken taxis overnight and been found been overly pleasing with the driver. In addition, Mirajane was an attractive prey for people like that. She was beautiful, young, famous and surely already served as fantasy for a good part of the men in this country. That kind of man was easily capable of this sort of things if he saw her alone and exhausted from her work day.

The white-haired girl smiled sincerely and looked at the blond with kindness. It was rare for him to show thoughtfulness towards someone and she knew by his attitude that he acted without ulterior motives. He always managed to make her understand his meaning and not a sign of some sort of personal agenda floated in his golden gaze.

"It's nice to ask, but I can handle this kind of situation and defend myself when necessary."

Unfortunately, she already had to face it and only violence had helped with those men whose hands were a little too wandering for her taste and visibly attracted to the idea of payment in kind. She rarely used her powers in her daily life, which allowed her to have them available in the event of an assault, especially since always being alone at such times suited her to avoid being embarrassed when she refused a little too insistent "advances" with her claws.

The lightning mage looked at the young woman who seemed calm and confident. Surely she was right; she was more than able to protect herself. Besides, he was not going to force her to accept his presence when she clearly didn't need it.

"However," she said with a small grin, "I'm not going to turn down some help in order to carry her to the car. I'm going to call Erza to help me carry her to her room once there."

The blond man nodded, but the idea still seemed absurd to him. "Isn't it a little silly to wake her up in the middle of the night for that?"

"Men are not allowed to enter the building. Don't count on me to break this rule and get shouted at in the morning."

He laughed softly at her answer. It was true that this kind of regulation had been in place for a long time in the dormitory and he wasn't surprised that the knight mage continued to implement it.

"Honestly, I don't get the point of this rule," he replied while the transformation mage ordered the said taxi.

"To avoid outbursts, I think. I don't live there so I didn't have the details," she said between two of her calls. "I'll ask her if you want."

"I really hope she won't say it's there to preserve their virtue. Otherwise I'm renaming the place the _Abbey of the Young Shy Virgins_."

The white-haired woman laughed heartily but concentrated again when the sleepy voice of the redhead answered her call. After informing her of the situation and fixing the details, she hung up and turned to the blond man with a long sigh of weariness interrupted by faint hiccups. He understood right away and followed her to help him move the brunette out of the white bed. He lifted her the same way as before and walked outside while the transformation mage collected her belongings and closed the huge wooden doors of the guild.

The taxi arrived after a few minutes of silence which seemed an eternity in the eyes of the lightning mage who was beginning to feel the weight on his arms. The young woman opened the back door, greeted the driver with her usual politeness and motioned for the mage to put his burden on the backseat while she indicated the destination. Then she turned to the mage and started with a strangely embarrassed look.

"Thanks for the help..." she trailed off. She fell silent, not knowing what to say next. "And thank you for keeping me company, time flies faster with someone," she added with a dazzling smile. "See you tomorrow."

"See ya," he replied with his eternal sly smile.

He pivoted on his heels and started walking towards the city without glancing back. The white-haired woman remained a few seconds to watch the silhouette of his broad back as it gradually became distant before disappearing into the horizon. Then she remembered the presence of the taxi and got into the vehicle precipitately which started almost immediately towards the hill of the dorms.

When she arrived, her eyes immediately fell on the red-haired mage, with dark circles and disheveled hair, waiting for her. She asked the driver to wait for her, got out of the vehicle and smiled benevolently as she saw the tired face of her best friend.

"Sorry to bother you at this hour," she began.

The redhead replied with a sleepy smile and helped the white-haired woman carry the brunette to her room, which of course was on the top floor. The climb was exhaustingly laborious with the two women feeling the full weight of the unconscious brunette. They had a few scares when her body almost fell to the stairs several times. But they came to the end of it and succeeded after twenty long minutes in putting the sleeping girl in the bed of her respective room which the redhead had opened with her double keys. They both collapsed against the wall, panting loudly.

"We did it," the knight mage said.

"Finally..." the silver one exhaled.

"I don't know how you manage to do it all by staying up so late," the first woman said.

The second one glanced at her with a look full of questions.

"You work until I-don't-know-what-time and then you bring her home all by yourself," the redhead went on.

The white-haired woman blushed and replied, "I had a lot of things to put back in place since I was not there yesterday. Oh, and Laxus helped carry her to the taxi."

The redhead seemed surprised by the last piece of information. "Laxus? The real one?"

The demon mage laughed and nodded. "He was hanging around and he must have been surprised when he saw the lights still on. Then Cana went in..."

"He helped you carry her?" the knight mage asked abruptly.

The demon mage laughed softly since she was finding this last question so absurd. He wasn't a monster and wasn't not going to watch her carry Cana with great difficulty while sipping his beer quietly without lifting a finger.

"Uh...yes, is that so surprising?" she asked in turn, her cheeks slightly pink.

Her friend shook her head, smiling and replied, "Just unusual."

The white-haired woman nodded with a smile. A slight silence settled while the two mages were still panting.

"Besides…" the demon mage said, standing up, "he's asking what the point of prohibiting boys to enter Fairy Hills is."

The redhead widened her eyes and seemed to think for a little while. "I don't really know. It was a rule that was in effect when the former owner was still alive and I just keep it," she replied simply.

The white-haired woman smiled at this answer which was so much like her friend.

"But don't count on me to delete it," she continued in a much more serious tone.

The demon mage stared at her with a surprised look. She had never brought up the idea.

The knight mage added with her most solemn tone, "The rules are the rules."

The woman almost choked on laughing, remembering so much of the conversation she had the day before with her younger sister. Erza had launched her sentence with such a serious and theatrical air that her reply seemed carefully written and repeated in advance.

"Of course," she finished, still containing her laughter despite her huge smile.

Then she went down quickly, throwing a quick "good night" to her friend who stayed upstairs. She joined the vehicle that was still waiting for her and went home safely, despite the rather heavy remarks of the driver who kept telling her that he was at her entire disposal at all hours of the day and night. The young woman thanked him with a tense smile and finally returned home, after one of the most trying days of her life.

* * *

It had been a few weeks since that evening had passed. Life had gone on and Cana hadn't recovered from her troubling emotions. Erza and Mirajane had tried to make her talk about her too many drunken occurrences these days but received nothing from the brunette. Cana tried to pretend that these were only isolated disappointments of her private life. So she continued, drinking and stumbling to the bar late at night. The white-haired mage had learned to manage these incidents.

The guild was as noisy and messy as ever. In barely two weeks, poor Makarov had received enough complaints to make a staircase that would allow him to descend through the window of his office. He was considering the idea in order to avoid those damn mailmen more and more these days. They always came back with more complaints.

Fortunately, the pile of complaints remained proportional to the jobs' one. The board was abounding with jobs of all kinds, ranging from the annihilation of a clandestine guild to the delivery of important items - for their owners - through requests for monster hunting and gardening.

The white-haired woman had almost choked while hanging this particular request. It came from an elderly lady in the city who could no longer take care of her garden and who hoped "a few good souls to do it for her". She seemed so exhausted from her trip to the guild that the transformation mage didn't had the guts to tell her she could have just hired a gardener. Besides, the mission seemed perfect for Droy, she thought.

She hastened to prepare the last ordered drinks, including a beer which she placed just in front of the blond man who had been staring at her for a good minute.

"You look depressed," he remarked, taking a first sip of the amber liquid.

The white-haired woman smiled and continued to prepare the orders while cleaning everything that could come in handy.

"Just thoughtful," she replied with a sigh.

"About what?"

The transformation mage giggled and looked at the blond man with a raised eyebrow that he could recognize even among thousands.

"Oh, nothing. I just took a job in from a client who wants us to take care of her garden."

She shook her head as she said those words and laughed, as the situation seemed absurd. If the garden in question had been huge and wild, she would have understood the waste of money. Instead of finding a professional with a cheaper wage, she chose to seek for help from the less trustworthy mages at Fairy Tail – the guild known for its incredible gift of tearing apart everything in its path.

The lightning mage sighed in despair. "I hope it's a real jungle."

The white girl shook her head, laughing. "Not really... If you ask me, the grass is not up to four inches."

"Can't she just hire a gardener?" he went on, still falsely offended.

She nodded, smiling and going on with her activities. Then, when she saw that the blond was finishing his beer with his insulted attitude, she approached and took the empty glass with a mocking pout.

"I thought you'd be the first to jump on it. Is helping a poor old lady to take care of her green plants not worthy of your abilities?"

She almost exploded with laughter when he quickly turned his head to stare at her, insulted as if she had just damaged his honor and his bloodline's. Her blue eyes stared into his golden ones. He was just longing for making this eternal little pest who never hesitated to directly attack his pride regret her every word. He recovered and decided, before her laughing eyes, to respond with more subtlety.

"If your grandmother is a model and in her twenties, then it can be negotiated."

The white-haired woman blushed at his remark. As always, he must have had a knack for direct but very effective answers. He had once again managed to make her feel uncomfortable and he must have probably exulted internally to see her so embarrassed. She hated pretending to be the prude girl in front of him, but she couldn't help but think that his description, however small, described her perfectly.

A doubt invaded her. Was his last remark directed at her or was it just some worthless words? After all, the 20-year-old models were a common fantasy, so he could have said this without thinking of talking about her personally. Her pulse had accelerated over her thoughts that she had to breathe for a few seconds to calm down. She turned to the lightning mage who looked at her with a sly smile, obviously very satisfied with the result.

A comment. It was just a simple, unimportant comment with no specific target. He just threw it in to annoy her because he knew she was receptive to it. No, it didn't bother her. She was not a puritan like Erza and she could talk about sex with her friends - except her brother - without being embarrassed. At least as long as it didn't concern her. But the blonde's words could only be interpreted so much, and a part of her didn't take long to assume so. Above all, he always took special care to accompany his words with long nonchalant glances on her body with his eternal grin.

Her cheeks instantly caught on fire. Was he hitting on her? Wasn't his ambivalent behaviour of recent times as disinterested as she wanted to believe? She was used to heavy flirts, but from a guild member, from Laxus, with serious insinuations? It disturbed her way more. But how could she know if he was serious? He could just be enjoying embarrassing her. Or maybe he didn't realize what was going on and he was just talking about sex with a friend.

Friend.

Had they ever been? As far as she could remember, their relationship had always balanced between hostility and a sort of rather knowing and completely indescribable rivalry. She was unable to describe the relationship she had with him. Friendship seemed like a pleasant, if hypocritical, alternative. They weren't friends. Well, they were. In their way. But could we really call it friendship? Surely. They had known each other for a long time, appreciated each other - in their own way but still - and could spend time together discussing everything and nothing. They were friends and nothing else.

So why the looks he had on her did seem so interested? Why couldn't she get this idea out of her head? The possible thought that he saw her differently. That he wanted more than this simple friendship that the white-haired woman insisted on offering him. She turned her head towards him and met his golden gaze, still as amused and attractive. His eyes quickly returned to their original place and a heat wave suddenly invaded her against her will. She breathed deeply and felt her cheeks overheat as she became aware of what was happening to her. She shook her head violently to get her thoughts back on track, although a bucket of cold water would have been more effective.

They were just friends, why was she reacting like that? Why did she feel like she was thirteen again? How did he manage to have so much hold on her without even wanting to? Was that what he was trying to do? Did he want to have fun watching her lose all her sanity with a few words? Was he trying to flirt that way?

But what was wrong with her? They were friends. Comrades. How could she just imagine that he had any interest in her? How could she imagine that he could be attracted to her? She was just the guild's barmaid, or the little gothic scrappy girl to him. Nothing more, nothing less. She took a deep breath, resumed her biggest smile, and turned once more to reignite the conversation without him suspecting her troubles. Her grin faded and she froze.

He still looked at her, but completely differently. His smile and playful gaze had evaporated from his fine features. His strange eyes stared at her as if they could read right through her. His whole muscular body was leaning casually against the bar. He didn't say anything, he didn't make a move. She swallowed hard. He looked at her with such intensity that she was afraid of breaking into a thousand pieces at the slightest movement.

To just feel his breath slightly closer. To be able to run her thin fingers over his torso that she knew was perfectly sculpted and slide them gently through his wheat-blond hair. Feel his hands brush against her and violently caress her raw skin. Was she entitled to have such a desire towards a comrade? Wasn't it necessary to avoid at all costs seeing more into him than a simple friend? Because of the fear of overly complicating their already complicated relationship? Could she let go of her desires that were beginning to burn her?

A throat clearing suddenly broke the tension. A young woman with purple hair stood opposite them, on the side of the bar, and was visibly trying to get noticed by the two mages. They turned their heads with the same gesture and looked at the intruder who seemed horribly embarrassed to interrupt. After a short moment of awkward silence which felt long enough, the violet-haired woman finally released the reason for her appearance.

"Mira, could you check the alcohol supply? I think we're going to run out soon," she said quickly.

The white-haired woman blinked for a few seconds of misunderstanding, but recovered as quickly as she could and offered her brightest, fake smile that she hadn't given in years.

"Of course," she replied.

She quickly went to the stock door and fled the scene, sinking at full speed into the depths of the guild's basement. Her short breaths and rapid heartbeat made her tremble so much that she almost collapsed on the stone staircase. Her legs gave way next to a shelf full of all kinds of food as she collected the last clear ideas she had left. She. Had. Wanted. Laxus. She had felt the need to approach and touch him. He had looked at her. And that had been enough to ignite her. What was wrong with her? Should she blame herself or blame him? After all, he was the one who purposely disturbed her to put her in this state. No, she started it all by herself. But she would never have gotten there without help.

When she emerged from her thoughts, life seemed to have gone on regardless of her. Tables were flying, members were screaming and fighting relentlessly. Those who weren't involved were watching the fierce battle as they happily wagered on the winner.

Her eyes flashed on all the faces present without finding a catch. She stared at each person avoiding a flying chair but without realizing that she hoped to trip over one in particular. Faded. Gone. Without any trace of his former presence. The young woman wanted him to understand her way of thinking. How dare he play with her that way? This first class idiot knew perfectly what he had said and what she had understood. What did he want to achieve with his stupidities? Make her go crazy and make fun over her when she tried to have a more intimate relationship with him? _Like this time?_

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Hello ! Thanks for reading this chapter, don't forget to leave a comment if you liked it (or not) !


	3. Chapter 3

"_Sorry, I don't think that's a good idea. I'm a little old for you."_

_His words came out so simply and crashed into her chest. The girl gasped and felt the tears grow on the edge of her eyes. She was about to burst into tears when her pride suddenly took over to lie with the most detached tone she had:_

"_Don't you dare look down on me. I never hoped for anything. I just wanted to get rid of it."_

_Her eyes wanted to prove her complete indifference, but she knew they actually reflected all the disillusionment that twisted her all the way up from the stomach to her throat. She tried a sarcastic chuckle but it was quickly strangled by the sadness in her voice. Knowing she would soon lose her composure, she turned around and walked away proudly with an almost ridiculous speed._

_He had a mocking smirk before turning towards the forest to go along with his training._

_Alone at a place she knew was isolated. The teenager burst out and let floods of tears roll down her cheeks to crash pathetically on the ground. He'd rejected her. He hadn't thought about it, nor seemed hesitant. He just cast it away like you'd throw a sticky insect. Her shoulders shook violently to the rhythm of her suffocation, as uncontrollable as the rivers of tears that flowed from her eyes._

_How did she even think that he could, with the tiniest luck, take an interest in her? She was just that kid in the guild, powerful, but a kid anyway. How could she have hoped that he felt anything for her other than the friendship they barely had? _You idiot!_ She thought. She was just a stupid girl and an idiot!_

_She should have kept her feelings to herself, moved on and just forgotten about it. Why did she choose to let him know how she felt? How could she have imagined that she was perhaps different from the others in his eyes? That the way he looked at her was different? That the way he stroke her in their spars was different from the way he stroke Natsu or Erza?_

_She was stupid. Just stupid and nothing else. Nothing was different with her than the others. There was nothing unique about the way he spoke to her softly with his sly smile on his lips, any more than the mocking tone he used to emphasize the "astonishing stupidity of this guild". She had imagined it all. Everything_

_What was to do now that he was never going to look at her the same way again? Now that he was going to avoid her or see her only as the "kid with a crush on me"? He was never going to speak to her again, or at least not for a long time._

_Her fist hit the stone wall violently with rage. She hated herself. She wanted their relationship to never change, to remain forever that modest friendship, punctuated with fighting and the music they shared from time to time. The open drops continued to roll down her cheeks when she realized that he was never going to put his earphones on her ears again, to make her listen to music that he particularly liked or just found funny._

_Never again could she discuss magic with him. Never again was she going to hear him making fun of her Goth clothes or her defeats against Erza. Never again was he going to make deadly comments or glare at her after she replied with an equally harsh nasty remark. Never again was he going to agree to share something with her._

_She felt so bad that her guts felt like twisting inside her. Her muscles were trembling and her breath seemed ready to run a mile. Responding to the most primary instinct she'd had in a long time, she ran. She stepped over the huge stones which blocked her path, jumped, accelerated, slowed down then ran again. She went on until she reached the top of one of the huge cliffs that bordered the beach and the lake._

_Her breathing was short and difficult, but the tremors had finally stopped. The girl took a deep breath, the fresh air of water filling her lungs and remained as calm and deep as the water that laid quietly. She gazed at the huge surface of water that laid before her eyes and seemed to absorb all the water from her eyes. She smiled softly and turned to go back to the city and ther sofa that patiently awaited her._

"_A little nap and everything will be fine." She didn't have time to dwell on this kind of nonsense. She had a redhead to beat._

* * *

"MIRA-NEE!"

Mirajane suddenly came out of her torpor at the call of her name. She blinked two or three times and stared at the pale face, strangely similar to hers, staring at her with concern.

"Why are you yelling, Lisanna?" She asked with a bright smile. "I hear you."

Her younger sister continued to stare at her without a word, still looking worried. Her blue eyes were looking for the slightest hint on the face of her eldest. They stayed that way for one or two long minutes, each trying to understand the other's strange behavior. The older tried another huge, innocent smile, but met again the inquiring look of her sister.

"Really?" She finally responded. "I've been calling you for ten minutes and you've been staring at the wall, crying."

The young woman quickly ran a hand over her cheeks and was surprised to find them wet. She was crying? Because of her memories? They weren't necessarily very happy, but not to the point of crying seven years later in front of the whole guild. The guild. The mage jumped when she remembered its existence and suddenly looked up at the crowd of people who were also staring anxiously at her.

She blushed in embarrassment and went back to the white-haired on, probably still waiting for an answer. She smiled as best she could and finally replied:

"Everything's fine. I'm just a little tired, I think I'm going to go home and sleep."

With these words, she looked down, quickly took her bag behind the bar and left the building followed by the multitude of eyes her disappearance behind the huge wooden door.

The youngest Strauss watched her walk away silently. Her sister was taking two days off in a row? In what world was that even possible? She had to shake the earth so she would take only one. The mystery deepened. What could have bothered her to the point of tears and fleeing the guild so fast?

The demonic mage crossed the streets of Magnolia and rushed to her front door. She wanted to go in, collapse on her couch and sort through the thoughts tangled in her mind. She entered her house and savored the peace so dear to her, which emanated from it. The same impression appeared from her room, white and clear.

She emptied her bag but froze when her fingers came in contact with the cold facbric of a very special object, green. Her headphones. Tears rose to her eyes with the flood of memories rushing through her mind. She shook her head violently, rubbed her eyes and rushed into the bathroom. She needed a hot shower to clear her thoughts.

She bluntly threw her red dress and white underwear on the floor, undid the ponytail that held her bangs and stared for a few seconds at the young woman with long white hair who was looking back at her in the mirror. She had grown up, no doubt, she had matured too, and evolved considerably. So why did she feel like she was still that girl?

She took a deep breath and finally entered her shower. She turned on the water and jumped when the frozen liquid suddenly touched her hot skin. After a few seconds, the temperature increased and the white one relaxed to appreciate the hot water which flowed calmly on her skin

* * *

_The demonic mage jumped at the sight of the package lying on her bed. It wasn't wrapped but still impossible for the white-haired girl to guess the contents of the box at first sight. She took it gently in her hands and looked for any trace of a possible card. Nothing. Who could give her a gift this way? Today was her birthday but all her relatives and friends had already given her their presents. Even Erza, who had bought her an astonishing book called: "15 yoga techniques to stop screaming all the time"._

_She frowned and thought again about the present's possible origin. She had been in the guild for a few months now and had integrated fairly well into it. Among the people who had not yet offered her a gift: Natsu? No, far too stupid for that sort of thing. Gray? They weren't really close. Levy? She was the one who found Erza's present._

_Suddenly, she stopped. Could it be him? He hadn't really talked to her since that last time and she couldn't imagine he would want to give her something for her birthday._

_She opened the box and froze again. In front of her stood a pair of green Lacrima Model Headphones. She stifled a cry with her hand and a few tears spilled out in her eyes. Definitely him._

_For confirmation, the letters "H.B, little demon" were written on the cover._

_She smiled as tears ran down her cheeks. She thought it was maybe his way of apologizing, it was also a way of making her realize that he was probably not going to talk to her for a while. She turned on the device in the hope that he also left a song or two for her to listen to. It was empty. She smiled hardly and collapsed on her bed with sadness and joy at the same time. At least now she could listen to music without him._

* * *

The white wiped the last tears that remained in her eyes. Why were all these memories coming back now? It was not the first time their relationship had gone beyond friendship. Why was she so affected today?

A knock on the door suddenly brought her back. She turned off the water, wrapped herself in a thick white towel and opened the door to fall on a purple shirt from which came a large neck and a blonde head with a slight smirk. The white-haired woman jumped at the sight, shut the door without thinking and fell to sit behind it. Blood rose abruptly to her cheeks and she almost started to suffocate as she heard the lightning mage chuckle behind.

What was he doing there? How did he get in? What did he want? She blushed all the more when she realized that he had just seen her in a terribly not decent outfit and far too uncovered for her taste. Suddenly she remembered that he might still be behind his door waiting patiently for her to open it.

"What are you doing here?" She shouted through the wood as her embarrassment echoed through her words.

He chuckled louder and replied in his deep but unusually playful voice:

"Your sister sent me to check on you. She says you don't look okay and you're acting weird."

At least that explained how he managed to get in. The white-haired girl sighed at her naivety, Lisanna had given him a key, it's not like he was going to break in! But it still didn't shed any light on why _he_ was right outside her bathroom door to inquire about her condition. It could have been anyone, like Erza, Lucy, Levy or Juvia, but no, her very dear little sister just _had_ to send _him_. Him. Why did he say yes to begin with?

The young woman got up and quickly put her clothes back on to open again to the man still waiting, armed with his eternal smirk.

"Why you ?" She asked with a suspicious look, almost sure he was up to something.

He nearly burst out laughing at the angry red face of his comrade, it surely had become too easy to embarrass her. He quickly recovered and looked into her almost black eyes.

"Guess I was just bored." He replied simply. "Besides, you looked completely normal when we chatted this morning so I thought maybe I said something."

The mage blushed deeply. He was kidding her! How could he have forgotten what he had suggested? _Because he didn't suggest anything at all, you idiot!_ She blushed even more, realizing that she had put herself in such a state for a few innocent and meaningless sentences in his eyes. Should she tell him what she had imagined? He would surely make fun of her but things would then return to normal and she could finally get him out of her head.

Absolutely not! If she ever told him the slightest thing about it, he would realize that she was sensitive to his comments and would take the opportunity to embarrass her even more and this time knowing it. She had to come up with an excuse and let him go once and for all.

But how could she do it when he was standing in front of her and with obviously no intention of leaving until he received an explanation. She began to consider all the possible answers: illness? She was perfectly fine and was absolutely not credible as a sick person, especially because she was able to work with a ridiculously high fever. Stress? How was she going to make him swallow that she was stressed out to the point of crying for no apparent reason?

"Mira?" She heard.

"Huh?"

He chuckled again, with that smile so rare that it became extremely attractive. She smiled in return at her own answer and gazed again at his teeth that almost hypnotized her. Her gaze slid through his hair, which looked like golden threads, and found herself feeling the urge to bury her hands in it to caress them.

"That's your explanation?" He laughed.

She came out of her thoughts again, remembering that she was supposed to provide him with an excuse. Of all possible ways to get out, she chose flight and went under his arm leaning against the arch to return to her room, almost shouting:

"Nothing! I'm just a little tired. Why should anything go wrong?"

She sat on her bed, put her earphones on her ears and started to scroll through the music for a song one that would soothe her nerves.

"You can go back now, I'm fine and I'll be even better after a good night's sleep!"

The music has just started when she felt the object leave her ears. She stared at the tall blond who sat on the bed without the slightest embarrassment and who now had just taken her music from her and brought it to him.

"What are you listening to?" He asked with a more serious but still natural tone.

Blood rose to her cheeks again. She had clearly told him to leave and he was quietly staying without permission. Who did he think he was? She watched him listen to the tune with interest, then untied the device from him to hand it over again. She grabbed it slowly while staring at him. His golden eyes looked right through her, while she couldn't guess anything from him.

When she realized that they had been staring at each other for several seconds, she immediately looked away and felt her heart rate speed up slightly. The mage then rose suddenly to place the magic device on her dresser and finally turned to him when she was sure she was completely soothed.

He got up and was standing there facing her. She detailed his outlines, his coat draped over his shoulders, giving him an even more massive figure than he already had while his purple shirt hired his torso that she knew was perfectly outlined. She even started imagining the patterns that the exercise had traced on his chest, and down. Slowly heating up. Her lower abdomen was caught in the familiar feeling of hunger and tremors.

He still didn't move, just stared at her with an intensity that froze her the second her eyes met his. Finally, he looked away, with immense relief for the young woman.

"Thank you for coming but I'm just a little stressed out." She mumbled.

He looked at her with more than suspicious eyes. Observing her again. She trembled a little. Those eyes. She thought her belly was about to explode. Was it possible to desire someone so much?

"You're sure you're okay?" He inquired.

No. Definitely not. She was almost there, one last smile and he would leave. Things would go back to normal, as they always had.

"I didn't know you were so considerate." She answered by adopting this same sly smile.

He shrugged slightly with a quick sigh.

"Don't flatter yourself, Strauss. I just don't want to be found guilty of high treason by making you cry."

So he knew. He was perfectly aware that it was his fault she had started to cry. Did he know why? Did he have any idea what feelings she once had for him? Did he forget about that?

"High treason?" She raised, raising both her eyebrows as they both headed for the main door.

"Just shaking you is enough for the death penalty here." He chuckled.

She smiled at this comment that she knew was half true. _I hope you wrote your will._

He cast her an inquiring look again, making it hard for her to keep consistency, then disappeared behind the door.

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**Finally translated ! To be honest, I don't like this chapter very much and the next chapters are quite different. Tell me what you guys think ! I'll try to get the other chapters ready quicker now that I have more free time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The next chapters will be uploaded much faster now (I hope the story will be finished before september).**

* * *

Two weeks had past. Mirajane had once again resumed the simple life she led most naturally. She worked, chatted with her sister, brother and a few friends like Erza, worked, slept, and worked again. She sure was fond of her routine. Not knowing if it was the peacefulness or the stability that it offered her, but she loved it.

However, a light spot obscured this perfect picture. Two spots if properly speaking: boredom and _him_. The second one although succeeded in partially making the first one disappear. The thunder mage had gone on an S class job six days ago with his team, without giving any news of course. That was however not what helped with her boredom.

She didn't mind what he was doing right now, why would she? No, her thoughts were kept with the strange tension building between them during the last few days. Finally able to put a word on it. T_ension_. Was any other word able to describe it? To define the long silence and heavy looks and with both pleasant and uncomfortable pressure in her gut? Not forgetting discomfort of her lower stomach during those times.

_Tension_

But it was still not enough to understand it. She had tried dozens of features, but nothing perfectly suited it. Was it a rather _electric_? R_omantic_? _Sexual_? The white haired woman chuckled as she thought of the first one, rather ironic to describe about the dragon slayer_. _But leaving it and only keeping the other two seemed however too close to a lie.

The young woman had never shared her thoughts with anyone, not even what caused them. How was she supposed to admit to a guild member that she had remained frozen before _La__xus? _And more, a mage from the guild, a childhood friend with whom she had had more than one fight. Her pride firstly prohibited her. Then in reality, the embarrassment.

Confessing her helplessness in front of him was one thing, the _desire _he had been able to give birth in her was a completely different one. And yet, one did not go without the other. Finally, it wasn't a sexual desire. Not completely. There was something else. Like an irrepressible desire to come near him and share something. But _mostly sexual_.

And then, she had to admit it: she had wanted to sleep with him_. _She frowned. What would have happened in that room if they had known each other just a little less well? Would she had not rejected the idea and swallowed up her pride? Would they have given in? Had he even felt it? His own desire like hers. Was she wrong? Did the heavy looks he offered her had another meaning? She had felt it though.

She tilted her head back to refocus her thoughts on her task. Namely, record the last received jobs. A too much difficult task with such a hazy mind. Just thinking about it, impatience twisted her gut and disturbing tickling mimicked the touch of his firm hands on her burning skin. Her head suddenly shook. _Work. Work. Work._

Her younger sister expectantly chose this moment to appear at her side. The young woman jumped and stared at her who had just came up in the library. They stayed like that for a few seconds before the youngest uttered a few words:

"Are you really sure you're okay?"

Those were the only words she had since the crying incident. Not giving up however how many times the demonic mage told her she was great. Rightly so. How would you believe in the well-being of your eldest when she suddenly starts to weep and get lost in her thoughts for no apparent reason?

"I already told you, everything's fine." The latter replied with a bright smile.

Lisanna slowly nodded, frowning, obviously not really convinced. She had inquired for days with her sister to find out what happened with the dragon slayer, with no results. Mirajane had tried to tell her he's come to check on her and left as quickly as he had arrived. To which she replied that it was surprising given his way too much mischievous smirk when he offered his help. The young woman hadn't answered that, she had just stared at her tea with a sigh, and her sister had given up hope of getting any answer.

She remained worried. Truthfully, she had sent Laxus because she knew he had spoken to her just before she started crying and knew he must have had something to do with it. She had wanted to get him an opportunity to apologies. What he had obviously done, but she wasn't sure that her sister's new thoughtful state was a great improvement.

The demonic mage once again focused on the complaints in front of her. As the master grew older, it was not uncommon for her to fill them for him. But despite her good will, the requests were piling up and the dedicated pile seemed on an unlimited growth.

_Jobs poorly-executed_. _Rude behavior _; Disturbances_ of public order_. And above all, _destruction_. Again and always more _destruction_. A wonder how the government hadn't already locked them all up yet. Natsu was obviously the biggest threat but he was far from being the only one and even Wendy, the best-behaved of the group was the subject of a complaint for_ destruction of a residential area._

The white-haired woman heavily sighed in despair and her head fell into the palms of her hands. How could she manage to reply to all complaints before midnight? If only they were a bit distracting... complaints were merely repeating themselves. She grabbed the next letter from her pile, opened the envelope with meticulousness and patience, praying it would be out of the ordinary.

The result was rather disappointing. The huge title above the piece of paper and the words _Request for reparation following the devastation of the town of Hargeon and the eastern forest_ met her eyes. _Who's the goddamn idiot that did that? _Her mind froze when she read the name on the complaint and a desperate but amused smile appeared on her lips. _Laxus Dreyar_. Of course.

She examined the request with a new found interest. Curious about what this _idiot _had done again. Unfortunately, nothing particularly new. Just a shortened neighborhood and the wood's biodiversity in serious danger. How could someone be so reckless? Natsu could still pretend to some stupidity that could prevent him from thinking about the consequences, but Laxus was supposed to at least think about it, if not just stable.

The young woman let out her most beautiful breath of despair. Perhaps it was time to stop doing paperwork for today, only undermining her mental health. She put the different papers back and hurried back upstairs to resume her word, ready to do something productive with her evening.

Suddenly, a weird figure jumped on her, screaming as she reached the top of the stairs. Startled, her foot slipped along with her center of gravity as she fell back. Her throat gasped, her hand forcefully grabbed the railing but her chest continued to fall against the wall, strong pain spread through her skull and her mind suddenly got clouded.

When she opened her eyes, she was still standing, clinging to the railing with her right hand and to the figure which she had kept tight against her with her left one. The form withdrew from the embrace and started inquiring with questions she couldn't quite yet get.

"Mirajane-san? Are you all right? Are you okay?" She finally managed to understand after a few seconds. She stared at the blue haired figure rushing around her as she felt other people approaching with concern. She nodded slowly as she regained her senses, the faces' features gradually taking shape.

"I'm... okay..." She uttered. "Ouch!" She exclaimed as her pain went on.

"Sorry Mira !" She heard from a pink haired figure. 'I was trying to scare Wendy with gelatin!"

The boy's voice was laughing, which a little annoyed the young woman. She forced herself to smile and stammered a few words to reassure everyone.

"It's nothing."

She began to reach the back of the counter, followed by a hundred eyes who tried to detect in her the slightest sign of pain. Her younger sister joined her with the most worried look of all.

"Are you sure you're okay? Your head really got hit fast!"

"Don't worry. It was nothing." She replied, smiling brightly.

Terrible pain scratched her skull as if a dozen daggers were sinking in turn. She rubbed the back of her head and the pain instantly increased, pulling a grimace which she hurriedly hid with a smile. Attention gradually abandoned her and people slowly resumed their activities.

The girl came closer to the counter and asked again about the state of the white. She accompanied her words with an avalanche of apologies. Mirajane tried to explain to her that no harm had been done - although his head was still terribly suffering from the shock - and that so many apologies were too much. A deep voice rose on the side.

"You're lucky she caught you." The voice said. "Anyone else would have thrown you down the stairs."

He was quietly sitting in front of his beer. When had he come back? Was that supposed to be a compliment? How long had he been sitting here? Why hadn't she noticed him earlier? The lightning mage seemed surprisingly rested for someone returning from a long job. Usually, he didn't bother coming to the guild at this time and preferred to go straight home. So what was he doing here?

"Someone like you for instance?" The young woman answered.

The words had come out of her mouth on their own. She widened her eyes at the same time as he realized her joke, however said with her most serious face. A somewhat heavy silence fell between them. The blond frowned, staring at the bartender.

"I was just trying to be nice, but let's say it's the shock." He said in a very sharp voice, visibly annoyed.

The white haired woman swallowed hard, searching for the right words. Finding a way to explain she hadn't actually meant it? She hadn't even wanted to speak, the words had come out instinctively. Besides, why say that? To respond to him? But to what? To not remain frozen with a dumb smile? To annoy him? When pissing him off wasn't on her list of preferences? To get his attention?

He emptied his glass in one go and got up to leave when she yelped an apology.

"Sorry."

He turned back to her with a face filled with misunderstanding.

"I ... I didn't mean that." She mumbled with embarrassment and no correct explanations.

He studied her face. Trying to get any intention in her words.

"So, what did you mean then?" He asked more curious than upset.

The demonic mage took a step back, looking down. What was she going to say now?

"Nothing!" She replied quickly. "I don't know why I said that."

She thought she was going to die of embarrassment as he stared at her silently. He was going through each feature of her angelic face hoping to find any motive. Her big, almost hypnotic blue eyes, the curve of her slight nose, her pink lips… the whole thing shone with innocence so incredible that it became unreal. So different from the mischievousness he knew she was capable of. How would someone contain such different personalities in one?

He sat down again. Visibly intrigued by the woman's behavior. Surprisingly, the exchange didn't get noticed by the other members who still cheerfully insulted each other except for the girl who stared at the two mages in turn without daring to move. She wanted to offer her magic treatment again but the silent looks cooled her down. She mumbled a few more apologies without Mirajane taking the time to listen to her and went back to sit next to Lucy.

As for them, the lightning mage had looked down at his beer after yet another smirk and seemed to have lost interest in her woman, still looking at him without a word. Was he still upset? His tone had suggested it, but his casual attitude made him look unusually relaxed. She tried an approach to break the overwhelming discomfort:

"How was your job? You came back early." She asked.

"Fine, I guess." He uttered, closer to growling than speaking.

The woman scowled. If her attempt at conciliation fell through, he could just ignore it or make a more complete answer. But was this really better? Stubborn and proud as he was, he would surely ignore it magnificently. She swallowed her discomfort and concentrated on her work as a barmaid.

After she had served over twenty orders, all accompanied with questions about her condition. Everyone at the hall had decided to worry about her. Her headache was even more worsening, but she tried not to let anything show. Wendy tried to insist she let her take a look but she declined, claiming that her only concern at the time was to serve everyone before the next day.

She was listening wisely to Cana who was telling her one of her latest story of unsuccessful date while cleaning dishes and relating the different events of the day in her mind: boredom, work, motivation, pain, reassurance, temerity, fear, pride, resignation. So many emotions.

"So, I didn't know what to tell him…"

It was still strange that he came to the guild this late after such a long absence.

"The guy was convinced I had already slept with at least fifty other guys..."

And then why was he so sensitive on this subject? The battle of Fairy Tail had been over for years, well, according to the calendar. No one suspected him of being an asshole without empathy anymore.

"When I really slept with none, you know?"

Did he think otherwise? Or, maybe it was more personal than that.

"I can't believe I'm still a virgin after all the dates I've been to…"

Did he think she thought he was not trustworthy?

"Whenever I go on a date, it's always the same..."

Did he think she held a grudge against him?

"Most tell me I drink too much and so, I get nervous that they might think that…"

It was in the past, she trusted him completely, well, for most things…

"And I drink even more! Isn't it horrible?"

Like it was worth getting angry! He certainly enjoyed playing with her.

"And others think I'm basically a slut…"

He allowed himself to make comments about her every day and she couldn't make one without upsetting him? Who did he think he was?

"So, they just tell me I'm intimidating and I stop seeing them..."

You really had to be stupid to allow yourself to play with people and then get all pissed when they replied!

"Isn't it nuts?"

And she had been replying for years! Why was this idiot blaming her now?

"Mira, you're listening?" The brunette asked.

Mirajane looked up and stammered a weak confirmation that did not seem to convince her comrade. Suddenly, she saw the lightning mage display his predatory grin from upstairs. How annoying it could be! He looked at her, still leaning on the railing, then stood up to head to the room reserved for S class members. Which was weird since he had just returned from a two weeks job. Suddenly, he froze at before door and turned his gaze to the demonic mage, still gazing at him while working. He smirked once more and got inside.

It was too much! If he had a problem with her, he could at least come and tell her to her face! And not hide in a small, remote room by silently inviting her and turn the situation against her to accuse her of having gotten worked up about it!

The card mage desperately repeated the white haired woman's name, who had stopped listening a long time ago.

"Two minutes." She abruptly uttered while going towards the room.

She went up the stairs discreetly under the uncomprehending eye of her friend and walked through the door without thinking about her real intentions.

The atmosphere was radically different. Silent, austere... Perhaps it would have been a little warmer if the dragon slayer hadn't been waiting on one of the sofas, armed with his eternal grin and a freshly lit cigarette.

Or if he hadn't immediately jumped on her when she closed the door...

The pain became even more powerful when her white hair hit the wall again. He was now very close to her, one arm resting against the wall, like a fence to her prevent escape. The mage took a few seconds to regain her mind and blushed instantly, realizing their position. His chest, on which she had a fantasy a few weeks before, was facing her and unwanted thoughts quickly came to her mind. She looked up, ignoring the pain, to stare right into his eyes.

"You still haven't gained in delicacy." She articulated with difficulty.

"I don't really like being humiliated this way." He replied coldly, still staring at her.

"Humiliated?"

He groaned in contentment. Their last exchange came to her mind.

"I didn't know you were so touchy, did your last achievements in Hargeon make you all grumpy?" She said with a provocative smile.

He straightened slightly, reducing the distance between his body and the woman. She held a comment but blushed even more when she crossed his smirking glance while taking a puff of tobacco. The moment their eyes broke away made Mirajane regain her senses.

"So what, you smoke to think about what you're going to say next?"

In response, he threw the smoke over her face and smiled as he watched her cough strongly. Oh, how she hated that smell! The idiot was really trying to piss her off! But she wouldn't let herself get mad.

"The forest was that beautiful?" She went on between two coughs.

"I saw better..." He finally answered.

She thought she had won but froze immediately as she felt his fingers slide over her waist. Red rose violently to her cheeks while in a state of amazement. She felt them go against her hip then down and finally stopped just above her buttocks, without daring to go further on their journey. She didn't move but managed to utter a word.

"Stop."

"Why?" He asked in a suddenly serious tone.

"Because I'm telling you to." She replied dryly, glaring at him but still not moving.

His hand went back to her back without however leave her skin. The woman let out a sigh of relief and even found herself enjoying the feeling. He was still staring at her. She looked into his golden eyes and felt her gut boil. He slightly bent down to bring his face closer to hers. The mage closed her eyes, wanted to abandon herself but stiffened and abruptly whispered for herself:

"Not here."

He froze, remained a few instants above her, took a deep breath, and then disappeared through the door.

The young woman was motionless, his breath still echoed against her skin and his hand seemed to have left an imprint on her flesh. Her organs were still burning, as were her cheeks. She took a few moments to connect her words to his departure and didn't know what to think. On the one hand, she felt grateful and reassured that he had listened to her, but on the other hand, she would have liked him to get a little closer. Just a little.

She shook her head violently. He was better off... She had no desire to be surprised in such a position with him, especially by a member of the guild who turned out to be Erza. What did really bother her? That he would touch her like this or that _Laxus _would touch her inside the guild? She was starting to have an idea on the matter. Maybe it was better to avoid being alone again in order to keep thinking of him as a comrade.

Because it was still the case, wasn't it?

* * *

Thank you for reading ! Please leave a comment !


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five's here ! Adult content comes in the next chapters !

* * *

Two weeks had passed since that. Two weeks passed way too fast. Two weeks and one single thing wriggling in her mind. She thought about talking to him. Too much thinking had led her to a decision. Her _ultimate decision. _One made during one of these rare time of clear headedness when she wasn't fantasizing about his_ goddamn' too well defined lower back _or his hypnotic gaze. How did she get in that state?

And yet, she wasn't lacking activities. The guild was increasingly busy with all kinds of visitors, more or less welcomed. New mages came to join, and fled after crossing the path of a runaway table, people from the town came to drink and have a good laugh, travelers… But no one managed to get her attention long enough to get her out of her thoughts. To the great misfortune of his sister, who found herself yelling more than once to get her to pay attention.

The situation was becoming more and more disturbing, especially since, despite her efforts, she couldn't manage to have an alone conversation with the blond. He was always between jobs and spent very little time in the hall, somehow always managing to be there at the busiest time of the day, making it impossible to take a quick break. However he didn't look bothered or embarrassed as she would have imagined. He simply walked around with his stoic look, ordered a single drink, then returned to his place before leaving the next day.

The white-haired woman was a little taken aback by his new behavior. She was still not really used to his playful comments and his mocking smirk, but his indifference bothered her even more. She had spent a lot of time weighing the pros and cons and now found herself without an audience to explain that she couldn't afford go out with a guild member. Especially not with him regarding their _explosive_ relationship whose fragile balance she could just not risk for the sake of the guild. Especially not now that her brother had started getting along with the Thunder tribe's only woman.

So why did she wish to get his attention if she was planning on rejecting him? _To put things straight_. She reassured her tormented pride at the idea of being ignored by a man she intended to reject herself. What was wrong with fearing rejection? Everyone had experienced it at some point. _Maybe, but twice from the same guy is a little too much. _She scowled to herself. W_hat an idiot_. She cursed in a low voice. She felt so humiliated she barely prevented the tears from shedding on her cheeks. How did she get fooled again? And what kind of _asshole _gave false ideas to someone he had already rejected years ago? Even if she wasn't planning on giving in.

"Mira-nee!"

Mirajane jumped when she heard the shout through the guild. _Was that becoming a habit or?_

"I already called three times!"

The eldest smiled in embarrassment as she realized the meaning of those words. How long had she been daydreaming?

"Sorry." She apologized, embarrassed by the multitude of eyes studying her.

The youngest sighed in despair and asked if there were any bottles of alcohol left. The demonic mage sent her to get some in the cellar and got back to work to clean her mind. Unfortunately for her, a more than curious card mage had approached.

"You're okay?" She asked between two sips.

The white-haired woman nodded with conviction and a reassuring smile.

"What were you thinking about?" The brunette went on.

She thought of the dragon slayer, his indifference, his teasing smirk that twisted her stomach, his eyes that shone with a gleam of desire so sharp, and his chest that she found herself wishing to touch…

"You really are miles away." She said, interrupting her friend's thoughts.

Mirajane sighed. _Except I'm miles down in Hell. _

It was at this moment that the large wooden door chose to open. Letting four figures including a particularly imposing one to walk inside the guild under the greetings of the other members. The master greeted them too and turned to the largest one for notes on their job. The lightning mage answered with a shrug and an almost inaudible groan. The old man sighed in despair and returned to his discussion with one blond constellations mage.

The white-haired woman felt the shiver on her back and her muscles tighten, not quite sure if it was of anger or desire. Maybe both. She heard him order a drink from her younger sister and turned to clean the counter while taking a quick look in his direction. He was turned towards the brunette asking him for details, a beer in his hand and a freshly lit cigarette in his mouth, almost completely turning his back to her without paying her any attention. Her body tightened even more in frustration, wishing to make him swallow back his arrogance.

Instead she swallowed her anger and once again managed to smile to Juvia letting her know she was going on a job. She turned her back to take out the register, her smile faded as she put it on the counter and began to write it down. She looked up at the blue haired woman allowing her to leave. Then she closed the book and wondered if she shouldn't just to leave it on the counter since other mages seemed preparing to leave.

She did that and to confirm, glanced at the board to count the number of future departures. Suddenly, her eyes stopped when golden ones stared at her. The exchange lasted only a few seconds but it was enough for the immaculate to feel her body getting carried away when she turned her back again to find consistency. What the hell was he doing? She kept wondering as she served a drink. She put it on the bar and saw the blond push back his empty glass and got up to leave.

The woman's heartbeat was lost in a race again and she barely kept herself from stopping him. He looked down at her and they stared at each other for a few more imperceptible seconds. His gaze was serious. Far too serious. No trace of amusement swept over his pupils. Just a serious and deeply thinking look. It ended up remarkably quiet compared to hers.

The demonic mage was shaking and confused. She expected anything but that. Her thoughts swirled in her head as she went on with her usual task. What had he been thinking mind to be so utterly different? Perhaps he had followed the same path as she did. Perhaps he wanted to stop, whatever they were doing, and no longer wanted to talk to her. At least, until it all settled down. Maybe he never wanted to talk to her again because she had pushed him away.

Suddenly, she was no longer sure she was okay with that. She felt weak, helpless and a little betrayed... Wasn't that what she wanted? End this nonsense story without hurting anyone? A story which had gone on for far too long? So why couldn't she be relieved? Why did she feel so disappointed?

* * *

The afternoon had passed quite fast after Laxus was gone. The night was barely started and the demonic mage was left alone with Cana , still faithful to her position. Lisanna and Kinana had already gone when the number of customers drastically decreased. The woman was silently washing the last glasses of the day when Cana returned hers and stood up with a big smile on her lips.

"You're leaving early?" Mirajane asked, surprised but amused.

"Yeah." She replied with a mysterious smile. "I have a date."

The woman felt ecstatic and asked for details. He was dark haired, tall, funny, liked drinking and had a disarming smile. She had met him two days ago at some bar while trying to cut down her bill, and it was their very first date together. Mirajane wished her friend good luck with all her heart and watched her disappear through the half-open door.

She sighed. The day had been short after all. She cleaned the last glass, put away the register, raised the chairs one by one with unusual liveliness, and then went down to the library to put away a few books. The card mage's happiness warmed her heart. This date seemed destined to be good, like the so many romantic comedies she and her sister had spent their evenings with.

_But life is not a romantic comedy. _Her small inner voice reminded her, making her recall the events of the day. She felt her good mood slowly die but stopped herself from feeling depressed. There was no way this _idiot_ was going to spoil her night. She quickly walked up the stairs, overwhelmed by the joy of her early departure. She opened the door and froze. Her enthusiasm died and felt the tension growing again.

He was there. Sitting at the counter. Head towards the wood, smoking slowly. He lifted his head and looked at her with his amused glare. The woman hesitated between joy, disappointment and anger. What was he still doing here? She wanted to smile and gently send him home but rapidly changed her mind. There was no way she was going to remain silent this time.

"What are you doing there?" She asked in a troubled tone she meant to be a bit sharp.

He frowned without losing his smirk.

"I knew you'd be the last one left."

The young woman stopped, she did not expect such a direct response and had prepared herself to make him speak the truth.

"And why is that?" She went on, still not sharp.

"I just saw Cana leave." He replied a bit mocking.

"She has a date." She said, shaking her head while getting her things back behind the counter. "But why are you here?" She insisted.

He chuckled a bit more. Sighed and brought the cigarette to his lips to take another deep breath. His hand was shaking slightly. He was tense. He released the smoke for a long time and spoke:

"She didn't end up on the floor?" He mocked, leaning his chest back without taking his eyes off the woman. "Now, there's progress."

She gave a wry fake smile but didn't say a word. She waited for the blond to continue.

"What would you say…?" he started between two breaths, as she stiffened to hear the rest. "if we went celebrating with a drink?" He finally dropped with a tense pout.

She remained silent, fearing her own desires had twisted up reality. Was he inviting her? On a date? Or to really celebrate Cana's alleged progress? There was little chance that he had come back at this time to celebrate an event he hadn't been aware of two minutes ago… Her heartbeat raced again as she realized his words.

"You're serious?" She asked, stunned.

He chuckled even more, turning his head away.

"Only if you say yes."

The young woman's breathing became more and more difficult.

"What if I say no?"

He looked again into her eyes and replied with a tone he wanted relaxed but betrayed the tension running through his jaw.

"Then, it's just a joke." He finally said.

Mirajane didn't know what to think. A few days ago she was determined to reject him if he tried anything. Then, a few hours ago, she felt terribly disappointed not to do so and now, she looked at him, without smiling, without smirking. She looked at him without being able to utter a word. Stuck between her mind screaming to run away and to forget his words, his burning gaze and all the incredibly tempting weird tension she could feel from him. But mostly stuck with the irrepressible urge to feel him against her, to rub against his chest, feel his fingers roam her body and her whole being burning with his touch.

She grabbed her bag, pulled out the guild keys, threw it over her shoulder, and looked at him again, trying to hide her agitation. He watched her do it without moving, trying to decipher an answer in her gestures.

"So, let's be serious." She finally declared with a playful smile.

His cheeks formed the same grin, he stood up and walked to the exit, not without giving her a look she had trouble to really understand. A little playful, a little enigmatic, perhaps relieved. But definitely sexy. The woman breathed heavily as soon as he looked away. Her stomach was twisting so hard she felt a bit sick. She breathed as deeply as possible, everything was going to be fine. With these words, she followed him without really believing it herself.

He took her to a bar she didn't know before. _Nick ' s. _She read on the blue neon that lit up the entrance. It was located in a somewhat secluded street of the town. The white haired mage wondered how she could never have heard of it before, and remembered her tendencies to stay home these times. A strange atmosphere came from the building, she felt fascinated by the faded stone facade, lightly colored by the multiple neon light. It was, however, not the time to to pay attention to details.

There, among the tables, chairs and partygoers. She stopped. The room was quite large. Half filled with customers, some of whom were huddling around the stage sitting in the back. From it, came out a slow, heavy and overwhelming music. The singer, in her hoarse voice, made the air vibrate, accompanied by three men whose instruments seemed to sing along. All on a charming, intoxicating rhythm.

The woman remained hypnotized by the somewhat dream emanating from the blue or purple light of the neon's. She couldn't tell if it was the music, the light, or the incessant talk, the whole thing, or just the atmosphere in the room that intoxicated her so much that she couldn't take a step.

"Mirajane?" She heard.

She jumped and looked at the lightning mage who was staring at her with amusement.

"Sorry…" She stammered.

He smiled. She swallowed. He could be so attractive when he smiled like that.

They sat down at the bar. The barman walked up to them, he greeted Laxus - who obviously knew him well - and exchanged some small talk with him. The latter seemed to know the surroundings as well. He leaned on the counter with ease, chatting with the boss as one would argue with a friend, relaxed. The mage noticed that, despite everything, he strummed nervously on the wood. Maybe he wasn't so laid back as he was trying to seem.

"What can I get you?" The bartender finally asked.

"Scotch." The blond answered without too much hesitation.

The waiter chuckled. Obviously not so surprised by his answer. He turned to Mirajane.

"Cosmopolitan?" She asked, a little shy.

"Coming right up." He replied with a warm smile that somehow reassured her.

She took a deep breath and turned to the dragon slayer who was watching the group on stage.

"Do you come here often?" She asked to get his attention.

"Often enough." He simply replied.

She remained silent. What was his angle? First, he was inviting her and now he was practically ignoring her? Slightly annoyed, she didn't bother to reopen the conversation and turned to the stage to see the group. It was obviously a rock band. She noted. She didn't expect much else from Laxus. He had always been a big rock fan and was not about to change. But that didn't bother her. On the contrary, she loved it almost as much as he did. The only difference being she didn't reject any other kind of music.

She remembered the time, soon after she joined the guild, when she used to join him at a table to ask him what he was listening to. Then he would suddenly put his headphones on her ears. Classic rock. Every time. That time, when she wasn't a brawler yet and he wasn't a self-centered bastard, hadn't lasted very long. Just a few months. A few months where they had come to an understanding. Until she confessed to him, and they both became distant, except to spar.

She blushed with embarrassment and looked back at him, who had been staring at her for a while. She looked at him as she took a sip from her drink. Trying to divert her attention from his piercing eyes that looked right through her, making her shiver.

"Do you plan on being silent the whole time?" He finally asked with a smirk.

Her eyes widened, having almost forgotten how much he could be irritating.

"Just waiting for you to start the conversation." She replied in the same tone.

"You're the chatty one, here."

Really irritating. At least he would be, if he wasn't absolutely cute when he looked over her slightly.

"If, by chatty, you mean a minimum social, then definitely more than you." She retorted, a provocative little flame in her eyes.

He gave a small amused chuckle but didn't answer. His so rare laugh became captivating. The demonic mage gasped when reality hit her. She was flirting with Laxus in a bar where he had probably taken her to get his way with her. She had decided to listen to her instincts but it reminded her too much of what she was dealing with. God knew how many girls he had introduced to that bartender.

"I'll be right back." She abruptly said as she stood up to walk towards the bathroom door.

She rushed into the room, locked the door and sat down on the toilet, shaking. What the hell was she going to do? Why was she still thinking about that? Her whole body was dying from the fire, but her mind couldn't bring herself to give in. Was it because she was reluctant to be on his list of conquests? Did she want more than _that_? What was _that_ anyway? Her head was full with so many questions that she couldn't quite hear herself.

She finally gave a slight cry of annoyance, stopped, then looked up in concern that she had been heard. She looked down and uttered the words that had taken shape in her mind. _I want to be somebody. _When spoken, those words seemed to light up all his thoughts. She wanted to be someone for him. Not necessarily the one, but not one of his vulgar conquests that he would forget the next day either.

She left even more desperate than before. How was she supposed to be a little special in his eyes? She jumped when she passed the bartender who was arranging a few drinks. He looked at her with interest. There was innate sympathy in his dark eyes, and his smile was all that warm.

"You're also from Fairy Tail, right? Mirajane, is that it?" He suddenly asked.

She nodded, smiling, slightly embarrassed to be recognized like that. He held out her hand, she grabbed it. It was warm, reassuring.

"Sorry." He smiled. "I just arrived in town, but I watched the Grand Magic Games. You were awesome."

She was blushing now. He was cute. With his comforting eyes and his almost black hair and his dimple in the corner of his lip. He had a quiet, comfortable, but yet manly presence. She released his hand a little fast.

"Don't worry." He said. "It's just so rare to see Laxus with someone, so with a mage as famous as you..."

She suddenly looked up to him. _Rare? _Was she among the first to come?

"Really?" She said, hiding her surprise and her smile very badly.

He laughed.

"He actually always comes alone. And he comes often! I think he doesn't like company with his whiskey." He admitted.

She chuckled. Not very surprised by the lonely nature of the blond and at the same time surprised by it. She looked at him from afar, he seemed thoughtful. She was so eager to join him and at the same time terrified. Reassured by the man's words and panicked by the reality of the situation. She wanted to join him, get carried away and fully enjoy it. But at what cost? Unfortunately for her, her feet had already brought her to the counter and her everlasting impertinence took on the show.

"Admit it." She said to the blond while sitting down.

"Admit what?" He frowned.

"How much did you pay the bartender to make you look like a good guy." She went with an insolent smirk.

"I _am _a good guy in case you hadn't noticed, demon."

She gave him an inquiring glare.

"10 000 jewels and a stripper, why?" He replied sarcastically.

She giggled and took another sip, feeling the alcohol free her thoughts a little. She wandered her gaze over the lightning mage and swallowed hard as she passed over his collarbones which sank under his shirt. She looked up, realizing he could see her and would certainly make fun of her for it. He was still staring at her, without a hint of mockery but with consuming intensity.

The mage felt her whole body inflaming. She finished her drink in one sip and looked at him again, blushing and visibly sweating.

"You're okay?" He asked.

She nodded, trying to hide her shaking. He was close, too close. She had to prevent another shiver when she felt his fingers gently slide down her thigh. She looked at him. His golden eyes pierced hers and couldn't help but to twist her stomach. Why wasn't he trying anything? She felt her body getting carried by the music, the atmosphere and the warmth of his hand against her skin. She leaned closer and whispered:

"Do you mind if we get going?"

He stared at her, and she did not look away, trying to make her gaze as confident as possible but still failing to hide the turmoil and desire that drove her. Strangely, his was rather similar, he got up and looked at her again with burning eyes. She shuddered again and gave him a small casual smile before standing up and inviting him to follow her outside with a slight move of the head.

* * *

Thank you for reading ! Leave a comment if you want !


	6. Chapter 6

They walked for a few minutes without a word. The young woman in front of him quickened her pace in her nervousness while Laxus followed her silently . Her agitation went gradually up as the alcohol and tiredness climbed in her head. So much she started to shake slightly with every step.

What were they doing now ? Was he going to try something ? Should she try ? Was it okay even after the cocktail, no matter how small, she had drunk ? It had been months since she had touched a drop of alcohol and her body reminded her well. Better going home, right ? But would she have another chance to be alone with him ? Was he going to misunderstand the reason and stop speaking to her ? She knew that was what scared her the most.

Unconsciously, she took a shortcut home. She walked through it without paying attention to thewhired haired woman who was slowly realizing their destination. He clunched his teeth and with a quick move, grabbed her wrist and twisted her around, a mix of fear shining in her eyes. He frowned a little and immediately let go. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Was he scaring her that much ? She stared at him without daring to move a finger.

"You're sure you're okay ?" He finally asked, trying to make himself as reassuring as possible.

She took a deep breath.

"I… I don't know what I want." She confessed.

He frowned, she couldn't help an embarrassed smile to grow on her cheeks and felt them heating up. Not making a move, he continued to silently look at her. This greatly bothered him, part of him was dying to rush forward without thinking, but another prevented him from screwing it all up. He chuckled to himself. Since when was he so careful ?

"You're so difficult." He sighed.

Difficult ? She was the difficult one? When he provoked her, ignored her, flirted with her and ignored her again and again ? And what the hell was that answer ?

"Could you be more specific ?"

He raised an eyebrow, smirked, and sighed again in despair. She could be such a pain with her false prudishness. He glared at her. She wanted precision ? He moved even closer until she was stuck between him and the wall, smirked for himself at her futile attempts to hide her nervousness, grabbed her waist and ran his fingers down her spine until they reached her hips. Suppressing the urge that swelled in her chest, she stayed still.

He took a deep breath her eyed following him anxiously, shivering, she felt her heart missing a beat as he leaned over to whisper to her ear.

"I want you like crazy."

The woman widened her eyes and felt her entire body racing. Her gut was becoming more and more uncomfortable, her skin bristled with every breath, let alone his war hand dangerously sliding up and down her back, causing a disaster every inch.

Suddenly, he leaned down and abruptly captured her lips. The contact was impatient, hot, but surprisingly pleasant. She closed her eyes, blushing even harder, without really taking part, the rest of her being completely frozen. Noticing she offered no resistance, the blonde got even more impatient, keeping himself from devouring her lips, and lightly nibbled on the pink flesh, the heat invading the young woman whose body desperately called for contact.

_Fuck it._

Her lips suddenly gave way, making him wince as he felt her kissing him back with the same aggressiveness. She slided one hand around his neck and buried it in his golden locks while the other slipped nimbly under his shirt to his hips and pressed him against her. His skin was hard, smooth and burning.

She felt him smirk against his lips and wanted to reply but he suddenly pulled away, obviously pleased, to catch his breath. She stared at him with amusement and envy, completely overwhelmed by the mixture of alcohol, hormones and touch that made her mind spin.

"You really have a thing with public places..." She said in a low voice, a mocking smile on her pinkier lips.

"Shut up, demon." He whispered in one breath before going again with the same hunger, almost consumed by the need. Need to which she skillfully responded slipping her tongue between two breaths, impertinently playing with his he didn't hesitate to launch into battle. He slid his hand around her bottom and grabbed her flesh, snatching a moan which poured him another flood of wants

Feeling the situation getting out of control, Mirajane stopped with haste. He frowned and got tensed around her with fear. The young woman realized it and approached again with a dangerous slowness.

"Don't you have a bed instead ?" She whispered with a smile.

He gave a slight relieved sigh and kissed her again, torn between desire and eagerness, before detaching completely himself, to her guilty disappointment and a gentle complaint when she felt her legs

Dangerously shaking. He glared at her, blushing and shaking, leaning against the wall in a position and a smirk it was almost obscene. Her bright blue cyan eyes undressing him with one burning glance, forcing him to gather all his strengths not to jump on her over again.

He grabbed her hand and led her through the streets, refusing to give her one too many glances and not paying too much attention to the difficulty she had to keep up with his hurried pace with which he walked. He stopped in front of a building she couldn't see clearly and scrambled up the steps before finally stopping before a wooden door he hastily unlocked. He rushed inside, turned on the light and finally turned around as she discovered the place.

It was only one room, simply furnished with what appeared to be a small living room and kitchen, and in the back, behind a wall that seemed to mark the separation with a bed. The woman's heart leaped even more at the thought, diverting her attention to the rest of the flat, uniformly governed by a slight disorder.

Shaking her head to avoid getting lost in contemplation, she turned again to him and stopped moving as her eyes crossed his golden ones devouring without restraint. He stepped toward her, stressing under his long stare. She took a step back without looking away and stumbled against the table that prevented her from stepping further back.

He walked forward again without losing her eyes. Mirajane's flesh sank delicately against the edge of it as he approached, the only real support in the lava to which her entire organism seemed reduced. Her burning bright blue pupils wandered over his figure and his clothes that suddenly seemed very tight.

His fingers slid down her hips, making her jump as she realized he had already swallowed the distance between them while she was thinking. He smirked and stroked her cheek's impeccably soft skin with his fingertips and rested his thumb against her lip. His finger slipped against the fabric of her flesh and froze.

Mirajane felt the grip on her face suddenly tighten. His thumb pressed against the corner of her lip, causing it to open up while revealing a universe of sensual delights on which the blonde's warm lips crashed. She wrapped her arms around his hips again and pulled him against her in a quick motion. She felt his hands crash against her waist and bottom before lifting her effortlessly on the table. She left his waist to entangle her fingers in his golden hair while he fiercely devoured her lips.

His tongue stroked hers with a mixt of slow tenderness and anger that terrorized her lower abdomen and knees so much she blessed the table she was resting on. Her mind clouded under his skilled strokes that slid up and down her thighs with speed and then grabbed handfuls of her flesh, tearing out slight complaints she desperately tried to cover. Without much success, since she felt his smirk grow at each of them.

His breathing, however, clearly was getting quicker as he openly explored her skin, going up to the beginning of her breasts slowly following the curve, making her shiver all the way. She slipped her hands under his shirt and stroked the tight skin, she felt him tensing on her mouth and smiled. Then she skillfully slipped them under the blonde's belt, then his boxers and grabbed in turn a large piece of flesh, he growled and approached her ear he nibbled before whispering :

"You're going to drive me crazy, demon."

She giggled and went on slowly stroking him while keeping him as close as she could. He left her ear and kissed down her neck, leaving the mage quivering with each warm imprint he left. She could feel his desire inexorably increase with each stroke he gave her and her whole body reduced to a searing mass of seething sensations. His impatience clearly growing against her.

She quickly withdrew her hands and began to unbutton his shirt. She hastily undid the first ones then abruptly slowed down as his lips, still hot from her skin, took hold of hers. She unbuttoned the next one with calculated slowness and jumped as one hand slipped under her dress and grabbed more flesh, unable to stop a real moan from crossing the corners of her lips. He almost sneered, she growled, half of pleasure and half to tell him to shut it.

When all button were undone, his shirt ended revealing his chest's taut skin and large black tattoo that covered part of it to his left shoulder. The white haired woman ran her fingers over it as she gazed at the finely drawn outlines. Her fingers stroked the flesh then carefully traced his guild mark's outline on his ribs. She looked up at him as he stared at her, eyes shining with envy.

Still leaning towards her, she could hear his breaths crash against her still burning skin. He crushed once again his lips on hers and gently stroked her tongue before suddenly grabbing her, one hand still tucked under her clothes, and lifting her and crossed the room, leaving with controlled delicacy on the mattress.

The woman straightened up and eagerly grabbed the blonde's face to kiss him. He kissed her back and quickly removed the fabric that covered his shoulders before throwing it across the room. Mirajane wrapped her legs around her hips as he laid down on top of her without ever leaving her lips.

His hand slipped under her skirt again, taking a plaintive groan from her as he grabbed the flesh. He dropped her lips and to go back on her neck, still inspiring one long swaying on her skin.

The young woman, one hand against her lips and the other abandoned, fought the complaints escaping from her mouth to crash against the blonde's ears, stiffening his grip on her flesh, desperately still covered. He grabbed her bottom, stroked her thighs and chest and left a track of burning marks down her throat, all the while colliding with the woman's convulsions.

Still struggling against the uncontrollable shivers that tirelessly roamed her skin and gripping the few attachment points he offered her, her face red and her breathing short, torn between the different temptations, trembled and let long guilty sighs escape, almost ashamed to give up like this.

Suddenly, she came out of her thoughts, dazzled by the powerful light lighting the room. She stiffened, immediately interrupting the blonde in his actions, questioningly staring at her with a bit of concern. With an embarrassed but somewhat amused smile, she whispered :

"The light…"

He pouted, quickly but enough to amuse her. How could he refuse ? Her eyes followed him rushing up to the other end of the room to switch it off. He turned around, ready to get back at what he had just left, and froze.

The demonic mage, quietly seated on the mattress, in the dim light but sufficiently strong from the bedside lamp, gently pulled off the ribbons helding her black dress, already pulled up to her thighs, and slowly pulled it over her head before abandoning it on the floor. Finally, she looked up at him, taking slow steps, tortured by the desire clutching his organs.

With a terribly playful smile, she casually laid down on her elbows and raised her eyebrows, letting him voraciously examine the lingerie that covered her breasts and sex. His golden eyes crossed by an orange glow slid over the pale pink cotton, too much darker for his taste, covered with black lace. He bit his lip and smirked, lifting his gaze from the lace to her eyes filled with their attentive sapphire, reflects of mischievious innocence.

"You're going to kill me, you know that ?"

Armed with her most beautiful bright smile, the woman rose to her knees and slid an expert hand along his black belt. Her lips, already really pink, tenderly brushed against his. Her tongue licked the pink ends as she slowly kissed him, feeling the grip on her hips dangerously strengthen. She smirked again and skillfully unbuckled it. The blonde took over and grabbed her lips before quickly shedding the clothes that bothered him, leaving him half-naked.

Without cutting contact, he grabbed handfuls of her flesh and hastily laid her down again. She chuckled. He frowned. She knocked him over.

Insolent, one knee on each side, she smiled even more as she noticed his surprise, gripping her hips and deepening the kiss, wet and indecent battlefield. Nibbling impatiently at the pink flesh while passionately stroking his more than receptive chest. He ran a hand over hers, she shivered and let quick moan escape. He played with her still covered nipple, enjoying the young woman fight against some impetuous moans.

Suddenly, a soft and skillful hand grabbed the bothering closure of her bra. He gripped it. They parted. He raised an eyebrow and dexterously unhooked it under her amused eye who tossed the fabric across the room before catching his lips again with the same eagerness. He went down her skin, more interested in the freshly freed flesh and perfect in every way, light, round and warm, with a pink piece at the top he hurried to kiss.

The woman, completely lost between moans, no longer tried to control them and feasted on the blonde's damp heat. She could feel the distinctive tingling of his magic on her, dangerously increasing the uncontrollable quivers going up her body. Magic was not something she was accustomed to, but she certainly easily could, especially when the lightning made her insides so deliciously shiver.

"Why are you using magic ?"

She froze. Her eyes met his questioning ones. Sweating and taken, she stammered :

"What ?"

"Your magic ? Why are you using it right now ?"

She frowned. _Her magic ? _He smirked and anxiously stroked the flesh.

"Stop pretending. I can feel it on you. Did you really think I wouldn't ?"

His words were accusatory but his eyes were playful. She finally understood and heavily blushed before sighing in embarrassment, still practically naked above him.

"Old habit… nothing important." She explained with a sigh that wanted to be detached but couldn't hide the crimson red from her cheeks.

He leaned towards her ear. She felt his hot breath while he whispered :

"Stop using it."

She wanted to protest against this order so impudently launched but crossed his yellow pupils that obviously left no room for discussion. She sighed and let her magic fade away, feeling the pink marks appearing on her almost white skin.

The lightning mage carefully ran his thumb over the disturbance that had formed below her left breast. The scar was long, thin, fragmented, a badly treated wound. The white girl watched him without a word, not knowing what reaction she expected.

"Happy ?" She whispered, hiding her confusion.

He gave her his eternal playful grin.

"Almost."

Her heart raced.

"What ?" She was tried hard but her voice shook a bit. "Do you want me to grow wings ?"

He chuckled.

"Maybe not wings…" he slowly went on.

She tensed. Her demons were one oddly shared fantasy by a lot of the men she had slept with, without great results. Some had fled, stammering brief excuses, and she had simply refused it to the rest. However, the lightning mage was one of the only people on this planet that have never seemed scared her of them. She wouldn't give in though, had an embarrassed smile that was meant to be amused and shook her head slowly, her eyes down.

He pouted, disappointed, and devoured her, still stroking her skin.

Suddenly his thumb took a detour downwards and went stroking the woman's sensitive spot. She immediately tensed up and moaned of surprise. With his left hand, he gently but firmly grabbed her back and leaned her against him, in a strangely reassuring embrace. He made light circles with his thumb, trailing long tremors across her flesh. Her cheeks heated even more when feeling the warmth of his lips against her ear.

"I really want the demon." He whispered, well aware of the effect he was having on her. "Please don't tell, you're afraid for me."

She moaned loudly, the heat increasing in her already veins, already very damp.

"I can feel it boil." He went on, strengthening his grip on her bottom. "Just let go, it'll be better for the both of us."

She gasped in surprise at his words but he still held her firmly against him, trapped in the exquisite sensations he was sending through her nerves.

"I don't want to hurt you, Mira." She moaned again, shaking and agitated. "But I don't want to hold back either."

She relaxed a little, obsessed with the pressure in her center, which seemed to be enjoying the increasing humidity that she was in."

"Let yourself go or I won't be able to."

Finally, he released a very slight amount of electricity on her center. The mage shook and let out a little cry of surprise and pleasure. Breathless as he resumed his work, she stroked the golden locks in which she had intertwined her fingers.

"See ?" He chuckled softly. "Better for the both of us."

He went faster, she tensed again and tried to control her pelvis that seemed out of control.

"Shut up."

She abruptly sat up and hastily removed the fabric that no longer really covered her intimacy. He smirked and hungrily grabbed her lips. Biting them and stroking her tongue. She replied with the same energy, clinging wildly to his face. Finally, he slid one finger inside of her, still not leaving the point where he started. She let out another long moan along her shivers as he released a new, stronger wave of lightning through her body.

Her complaints grew louder as the pleasure grew within her. Her tensed face, she felt him add a finger, moaned even more under his skillful strokes. She was close, way too close, straddling his fingers with all the fervor he injected in her. She moaned, shivered, and felt her pelvis getting out of control of pleasure.

"Mirajane." He whispered softly.

She finally let go. A wave of heat rushed through her as she convulsed, letting out a long, uncontrollable moan. Her claws dug into his back, pulling a grimace of pain out of him. She moaned harder and finally collapsed his shoulder who sighed in relief. Only her arms were transformed but her skin radiated from her purple demonic magic. _So damn cute__._

When she finally raised her head, still out of breath, some of her fangs stuck to her forehead ans her hands returned to normal, he released his grip around her. She pulled away a little and glared at him, frowning, searching for any hint of fear or disgust, but his golden eyes still shone with the same spark of amusement and desire. She looked away, blushing. _What was she expecting ?_

"You're okay ?" He inquired without losing his eternal smirk, _slightly anxious._

She nodded and smiled, more embarrassed than anything. He smirked again and laid down, visibly not minding her still straddling him. Catching her breath, she was still quiet, not knowing what to do with this unexpected break. Her lips were swollen and in a much brighter color than before.

She blushed even more when wondering about it and shifted her gaze to his chest, looking like a masterpiece and devilishly attractive. She tensed at that thought and deduced that she was still not satisfied at all. She slightly stroke his tight chest with the tip of her fingers and then the flat of her hand. Suddenly, she noticed in the corner of her eye the tip of some red liquid on his shoulders. She leaned over him and brushed it lightly, getting her fingers damp. _Blood._

"Having fun ?"

She gazed at him, remembering he was still there and wide awake. He went up again, taking her with him allowing her to note how much longer the bruise went on his back, followed by several others. She looked back at him. He was calmly observing her, still amused, and raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"Does it hurt ?" She asked.

He softly chuckled.

"A little." She frowned and he brought his face to hers, looking right into those shiny blue orbs filled with too many worries. "I've seen worse."

She grinned and quickly looked away, not doubting that, then suddenly remembered the position they were in and red came to her cheeks just as quickly, brought back to her arousal still waiting between her thighs. She glared at him again, he sitting still without initiating anything other than rubbing with one hand up and down her thighs and bottom, the second one simply on her hip.

His golden eyes examining her with far too much precision, burning with in a silent fire. Her body and core tightened, the woman realized he was just waiting to go on where they had left. She smiled, embarrassed, amused, embarrassed, turned on. His hand stopped. She kissed him.

The contact was brutal, hot, restless, eager to taste more. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, getting more and more on edge coping with his growing excitement every time he looked at her, her hips, her breasts, her skin marked by training and injuries. He grabbed her hips. She moaned. She stroked him. He groaned, getting bothered by his pants. She stroked again. He gripped her hand with the zeal of those who like to be in control. She shamelessly smirked and went on again regardless of it, hearing his breathing getting stirred.

She rose to her knees, giving him space to quickly remove it and grabbed his lips again with impatient strength. She stroked him. He growled and stopped her immediately, not giving her a chance to continue. She grinned and gave him one mockingly disappointed pout. He abruptly parted from her and opened his nightstand's from which he threw several condoms out.

She awkwardly smiled, both reassured and embarrassed she could have gone all the way without even thinking about it. Her cheeks turned pink and she chased that thoughts away when she threw herself to devour his lips as soon as he had put one on. She straightened up, and slowly lowered herself, welcoming the outside intrusion with relief. He growled, feeling her heat going straight to his head.

She shyly moved her pelvis, observing his reaction. He held her more tightly as she continued to make small moves. Getting used to his presence inside her. He groaned again and threw himself on her neck, far too abandoned for his liking. The white woman let out a moan at the touch of her lips. She went faster, feeling up how her belly seemed to follow his motion, gradually discovering how her body adjusted to his. She picked up the pace and her sweet moans grew louder, becoming the victim of her own impulses.

The lightning mage was finding harder and harder to hide his excitement. The woman, her hands intertwined in his hair and her face buried against his skin, happily moved without shyness, her abdomen seeking to adapt as best as possible to his in exquisite undulations gaining speed as the pleasure rose and as he devoured her neck and her breasts available.

Her moves were becoming disordered, her complaints uncontrolled and still louder. He felt her tighten around him and loudly let a sweet complain in a wave of pleasure. She had always been passionate but obviously also strangely incredibly gifted creature. He suppressed an unexpected moan, no longer able to distract his mind from the damp heat contracting more and more around him in strikes of pleasure.

He tightened his grip, determined to last as long as possible, or at least until she was fully satisfied. She moaned again. One sweet complaint thrown in the almost religious silence. Her pelvis quickly grew out of control, straddling and convulsing aimlessly, over the sore spot the blonde easily reached inside her. She convulsed , unable to restrain her noisy lamentations.

She went up, down, fidgeted, slowed down, went faster again and again. Until finally being seized with a rush of heat through her flesh launching a wave of convulsions in her limbs. She moved again, enjoying the last drops of pleasure and feeling the blonde completely tensing around her. She finally slowed down and pulled away, sweating and out of breath.

She shyly smiled, her cheeks going crimson. He approached and kissed her hungrily, interweaving their tongues, drinking her last moans.

"You're still…? She asked, almost surprised.

He quickly nodded with a silent smirk and lifted her in a quick gesture to lay her down with shaking strength on the mattress. She grinned and tasted another kiss while feeling him gradually inside of her. She moaned softly as he started to move, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him against her and savor his tongue once again.

His movements were slow but powerful, he had grabbed her thigh to have more support. The other leg, quietly intertwined with his leg, moved approximately to the rhythm of her moves against him. He sped up, taking uncontrollable complaints from her again. She grabbed him and stroked his back, urging him to go on with his gentle work. His hands were sweaty, his smell typically masculine, and hips skilled in the art of torturing her.

She tried suppressing moves from her that wanted to be uncontrollable, feeling him firm his grip on her hips not to lose pace. She loudly moaned again, not knowing what to do with the complaints freely escaping her lips. He groaned in response against her neck where he had buried his face in, feeling the end coming but refusing to deprive her from one last pleasure. He had to stay in control or he would lose track.

For a moment, the white woman seemed to completely lose herself in the ocean of sensations that awaited her. His movements were not hesitant and reached places far too sensitive. His hot, ravaging lips, his sweaty hands impetuously stroked every inch of skin she offered him, made her neck, chest and thighs shiver. And his hips…

She prayed for the moment to last forever, the moment when complaints were torn out of her, far too happy to feel her tensing in his presence. No noise disturbed the dead calm that surrounded them. Just the weeping accent of her moans. Far too lost, she clung to every piece of flesh his body offered her, desperately seeking a point of attachment in this tortuous ocean.

She sped up against him again, he growled in frustration, her shaking and maning more and more powerful. She convulsed again. In a violent burst of magic, her claws pierced his already raw skin, making him groan in pain. She cried out and got out of control from her and for the blonde letting out another louder growl, crossed by the same wave of heat that invaded the woman.

He stopped, breathless against her, visibly satisfied for the moment, but still groaning of satisfaction. He came back to her level and kissed her with all the strength he had left. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him to keep him close. He moaned softly and pulled away to glare at the demonic mage, smiling and sweating like never before. He quickly withdrew and threw away the used condom before lying against the sheets, next to the blushing young woman.

There were a few minutes of silent, both enjoying the last moments of pleasure and waiting for a reaction from the other. The white haired woman, her mind still very cloudy with pleasure, turned her head towards the blonde, as foggy and sweaty as she was. He looked back at her. She grinned and quickly looked away, before rolling onto her stomach next to him and staring at him again. He gave her an inquiring glance. She peacefully smiled, her head smacked against the pillow, far too comfortable to be true.

"You're okay ?" He finally asked.

She nodded lazily.

"Already tired ?"

She glared at him, he chuckled. She tried getting up. He immediately grabbed her, grasping her wrist tightly between his fingers.

"Where do you think you're going ?" He asked in his mocking tone but his eyes betrayed a deep concern.

"Bathroom…"She uttered, surprised.

He let her go with a mocking smirk and she walked, getting nervous about what was supposed to happen next. Was she supposed to get going now that she had slept with him ? Should she leave ? It wasn't like he was some vague acquaintance she could just leave without any consequences. How was she supposed to think about him now ? How were the others going to react ? Did they really have to know ? So many questions tearing her mind, far too filled.

Time passed out too quickly and she went out, hands shaking and still panicking. She crossed the room and took the opportunity to open the window and clear the smoke that escaped from the cigarette he had lit in her absence. He took long breaths, quietly detailing her naked skin. Her arms were back to normal and her eyes were shining with concern.

Still, the moonlight reflected her white skin and covered her with a halo that transformed her into a creature taken straight out of his darkest fantasies. The perfect curves of her bottom and chest, her flat belly and red marks casually drawn, her quick moves nearly making him forget her almost complete absence of shame to walk around like that. She looked bothered by the smell of tobacco, slightly frowning, and her hesitant gestures that wanted to be assertive. _Way too cute._

She took advantage of standing up to grab her abandoned bra in one corner, and postpone the deadline to a more than embarrassing talk.

"Do you want to leave ?" He sharply asked.

She froze.

"Do you want me to ?"

She heard him sneer, as if her question sounded absurd.

"Mira, I'm not going to kick you out at 2 a.m"

She grinned, half reassured, half mocking me.

"So you want me to stay…" She whispered, fully aware he could clearly hear her.

Silence. One small laugh.

She slowly approached the bed, unable to bear his silent mockery, and inquiringly raised her eyebrows, glaring at him. He smirked again and suddenly went up on his knees to grab her waist and bottom. He quickly kissed her white neck, she shivered. He gave her a second kiss, then a third and came back to her ear to whisper.

"You think I'm done with you, it's kind of funny."

Her eyes widened and she let him trace a path down her throat before frowning and pushing him back on the bed. He let her do as she pleased while she went back on top of him and pretended to capture his wrists against the sheets, knowing he could easily get himself out if he wanted to.

"Sorry, I thought you were done for the night."

He frowned, not rally appreciating the joke but greatly the woman's position. Suddenly, he took his wrists out and grabbed her lips decided to make take it back. She replied but didn't let herself be knocked down. She kissed him with all the passion she had, feeling her arousal rise up again with the new frantic strokes he was giving her. She softly moaned and started kissing his neck, moving down to his chest, tracing the outline of his tattoo, obviously sensitive.

He watched her without making a move, wondering how far down she was planning on going. She kissed him again, tasting the salty warmth of his perfectly tight skin_. Was it humanly possible ? _Then she glared into his golden and provocative pupils, determined to make him swallow back his superior ways. She gave him a sweet smile, no, shy, no, devilish, and went further down.

* * *

Thank you for reading ! Please leave the comment ! (the next chapter will be the last)


	7. Chapter 7

The tingling sunlight awoke him. He growled and turned around hoping to find a hint of darkness into one of his pillows. The air was soft, still fresh and deliciously stinging his skin. He spread an arm and slid it against the cold sheet. _Cold ? _He opened an eye and abruptly sat up. It seemed like she was gone and hadn't closed the widow for that matter.

He groaned again and let himself fall against the mattress, not so comfortable now, and smashed said pillow on his face as he cursed at the sun attacking his pupils. Finally, the lightning mage found the strength to look at the clock. Eight thirty. Fucking demon leaving in the middle of the night and not closing the damn widow on her way out. A long sigh escaped his lungs and he noticed he was thirsty.

With all the strength he could provide, not really much, he pulled himself out of the sheets still warm on his side and heavily dragged himself into the kitchen – which was more storage than anything – pouring himself a large glass of water, eyes still half open. He put it down with a sound that echoed through the room and surveyed the place as if his eyes were discovering it for the first time. Finally, he noticed the paper patiently waiting on his coffee table, above a pile of already completed missions.

He walked to it, hoping it was just a forgotten chore list, and not a bunch of awkward apologies written in that quick and thin handwriting of hers. He grabbed it and deciphered the note :

"_I had to open the guildhall, sorry. M"_

And that was it. No tearful regret. No prohibition of saying a word to the others. No "slept well ?". No "that was great, let's do it again sometime !". No "Sorry I drove you crazy and left while you were sleeping." _Fucking demon._

What was he expecting anyway ? He groaned again, this time louder, not sure whether he was supposed to feel offended or relieved by this lack of consideration. He examined the paper again and finally raised his eyebrows before sighing in despair and heading back to bed, determined to get a few extra hours of sleep. She definitely needed someone to teach her some manners. _And with a good kick in the ass._

* * *

The young woman wearily put down the case of food. It had been a week since she had slept with him. One entire day biting her nails off in anxiousness and six cursing in her mind. At herself, at him, and then at herself. Especially at herself. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice a thing. Not one suspicious look or a snide comment. What a relief.

He had been gone on a job for six days now, had gone to the hall late in the afternoon, had looked at her with the same indifference as usual, at least in public, she had just smiled, _as usual_. He had gone upstairs, into the room reserved for S-rank mages, and of course, she had followed after him. After a good fifteen minutes, to avoid suspiciousness.

She had entered cautiously, avoiding slamming the door, and found him casually leaning on the wall, detailing a job stamped with a red mark. The lightning mage had looked up at her, his golden eyes so expressive. She had entirely shuddered, feeling her insides getting warm and others freeze. Was he pissed off ? Should she have woken him before leaving ?

Yet, his gaze hadn't changed at all, it was the same one that had been detailing her naked body so furiously the day before, before his arms had grabbed her and convinced her to stay the night. And it had been worth it. Her knees were still shaking thinking about what happened next. She had wished to shut him up and he had made her regret, or not. She had taken the upper hand and he had stolen fit from her. Again and again, until she passed out, sweating and blissful in his bed.

She shuddered again and blushed heavily, remembering the few details left. His warm hands and definitely knowing their way on her sweaty skin, his rough kisses, the way he made her move at will, his mischievous grin when she attacked with the same heat. The way she had let him defeat her, despite all of her efforts. Some much she couldn't tell if he remembered it the same way she was.

She had looked down, no longer able to keep her cheeks from reddening at these thoughts. He had stared at her again, she had looked up, wanting to make him swallow his self-confidence, and he had just grinned. Slightly, nothing too much. Although, for Laxus, that was quite excessive. A playful smirk, satisfied, but nothing mocking. Just a smile. And her heart had raced.

Finally, he had started walking towards her and showed her the paper.

"I'm taking this one, it should take ten days."

She had wanted to utter a word, tell him what she really thought about it. Curse at him too. Maybe strike him. But she had only blushed and nodded softly.

He had smirked again, a little grin, but still so fascinating.

"Don't miss me too much." He mockingly added before stepping out the door and disappearing.

She had blinked, clenched her fists, cursed at herself and especially at him. Had come downstairs again, casually, but her mind far too busy. Stunned one smile of his could have thrown her off again, trying to avoid her body's memories of the night before, and half-cursing at him for laughing at her when he had begged her to stay the night before. Someone had to make him swallow his arrogance. And she had an idea of who would be _absolutely perfect _for the role.

* * *

Eight days later, he was back. After being away for fourteen days. Not that she had been worried, no. She hadn't counted either. She just had a good memory. That was all. And then, someone had to count for the Thunder Legion, reassure them, tell them everything would be okay and that there was no reason to worry.

And all of this without knowing, for sure, that they were perfectly counting as well and claiming to everyone that Laxus had certainly already finished the job and was simply taking a few days off to rest his godly being.

The barmaid sighed again before putting down the last glass of the day. Cana's, her only company of the evening. The rest had already gone home or was protecting the weak and the defenceless in some land far away. Only Cana remained, still pesting against her last date that had abandoned in the middle of the night because it was apparently "not normal to be drunk at nine p.m.". To which she had just called him weak and ordered a bottle for herself.

At least the brunette tried to be a decent human being. When others didn't smile to anyone while they got back from an s-class job that had lasted four days longer than expected, knocking Natsu out in the process and starting a rampage when he fell on Gray, sending him against Elfman, sending him against Gajil, who of course had thrown him on Erza's cake.

Not a word, not a look. Not a gaze to let her think that he wanted to talk to her. Not a move. Nothing. Who did he think he was ? He had gone upstairs. She hadn't followed him. _What the hell was thinking ? _She had work to do and couldn't afford to take a break every time a moody blond felt the need.

"Why are you making that face ?" She heard a voice.

The mage's loud voice echoed through the empty hall. The woman shrugged and shook her head. She turned and smiled as best as she could, hiding the boiling anger rising within her.

"Just tired."

Her friend raised an eyebrow over her hazy eye and smirked playfully.

"Oh ? So it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Laxus came home today ? Or the fact that you completely ignore him for no reason ?"

She suppressed her surprise and went on smiling while taking on a surprised, perfectly innocent look.

"No… not at all. Are you done soon ?" She asked eagerly.

"Huuuh ?" She frowned and then, changed her mind. "Anyway, they're still chatting up there so you can't close the guild even if I leave."

Which was true, the master and his grandson had been talking in his office for quite a while now, meaning where no one could hear them, disturbing the woman even more when it was the first time she had seen them talking that long in years. Probably about a family issue that had to remain confidential, although the master entrusted her with the most discreet matters. The mage raised her head towards the door where they were locked in, hoping Laxus wasn't getting stressed over his father that still took a good part of his mind.

"Let's just come back to our little conversation…" The brunette offered, with a smile eager for gossip.

Mirajane sighed and desperately searched for some pretend story. Suddenly, they heard yelling and the door slammed open, revealing the visibly enraged dragon slayer, who went downstairs in a loud and heavy pace, exiting the hall with the same delicacy. Not without sending an infuriated look at the two young women, frozen in fear.

The master went downstairs shortly after, looking remarkably bored.

"Master ? Is there a problem ?" The woman inquired, more than shaken.

He warmly smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing to do with you."

And then, he added :

"It's getting late. I think it's time to close."

They both nodded, the brunette stammering quick greetings and vanishing faster than she ever could. The bartender locked the door soon after and started her way home, still deeply stressed out.

The night was dark, but she didn't mind. She was still thinking about him. It was hardly every day that the guy lost his temper. She had completely forgotten her anger of the day and quickly thought that it maybe wasn't too late to come by his place, now that she knew the address. Not for very long, just to check if he wasn't about the town. Public health issue, truly.

She didn't decide where to go either. Let's be honest, he was going to throw her out, at best. If not going to take his anger out on her, definitely the last thing she wanted, to further complicate their already too complicated situation. She walked past a restorant and stopped abruptly, had an idea and shrugged with a mischievous smile. _Why not ?_

When the dragon slayer opened the door, determined to make the idiot ringing at his door regret he ver had the idea, he found her, dressed just as he had seen her a few minutes ago, with a bright smile and sparkling eyes. He had been trying to avoid her for a little while, that started well. He frowned.

"I am in no mood, Mira. Go home." His tone was abrupt, almost mean.

He wanted to slam the door but she stopped it nimbly, obvious not in the least scared for pretty white fingers. He took a deep breath that wanted to be upset. He had nothing against sex to calm his nerves down but he really doubted she was there for that. Suddenly, she opened the door with a wide move and took bag out from behind her back.

"I have food." She announced before mischievously raising her eyebrows. "And I know your fridge is empty."

The young man's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since noon and his body wasn't letting him forget it, it didn't help with his mood either, he was one to hate getting to bed hungry. And she was obviously well aware of these last two small details. He sighed in despair and turned to let her in.

"You're really annoying, you know that ?"

She proudly crossed the threshold, visibly more than satisfied with her little effect as he watched her carefully clear the coffee table to put what she had bought. He sat in front of her and grabbed a burger avoiding the stare she was giving him. When he felt her focusing on her food, he gazed at her struggling with the sauce dripping down her fingers and lips, begging to be kissed. _Much too cute. _She looked up, looking far too serious.

"Do you want to talk about it ?"

He shook his head sharply, focusing his mind back on his fries. She gave him a benevolent smile and they continued eating in silence. She had bought quite a large quantity for him but finally wondered if it was going to be enough. Finally, she met his gaze again, intensely fixating on her. She shivered and blushed, her body racing although she thought it was under control and looked at him again, this time with the same envy.

Their eyes stared at each other for a few more seconds, waiting to be sure. When she crossed the table, he gripped her waist and she pinned him to the floor. He grabbed her buttocks, she grabbed his lips, and they both quickly grinned before going at it again, ready to devour each other.

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Thanks for reading, that was the last chapter of my story, please look forward to my new stories upcoming soon and dont forget to leave a comment if you read until here !


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